Crash
by messmeup
Summary: COMPLETE The day started out fine. And then it happened. Marco was hit. The car sped away and he thought the nightmare was over. But someone who was all to familiar saw it from a defferent view. Inside the vehicle. ...Darco slash.
1. Crash

Ok. Not my first Dff. I just started it. Hope you like it. R&R please. You know you want to...+.+

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Marco lay still on the ground. Not a stir not a sound nor a blink of an eye.

"Marco! Marco wake up!" Dylan shook him vigorously, tears spouting from his eyen. "Somebody call an ambulance!"

A few people gathered around watching with horrified looks as Marco lay bleeding in the street. Dylan clutched him tightly, as if he were to let go he would be gone. Sirens began to wail somewhere far in the distance. They began to grow closer and soon enough they pulled up next to the two boys in the street. Dylan didn't want to let go let alone have Marco out of his sight so he rode next to him on the way to the hospital.

What seemed like a few hours later after basically going insane in the overly clean living room a doctor walked in and tapped Dylan on the shoulder. Dylan looked up at the man in the white coat, his eyes red and still dripping with tears.

"Are you the one who came with Mr. Delrossi?" He said in a stern voice.

"Y...yeah." Dylan whimpered.

"Well we had to perform emergency surgery on him. He had a pretty bad cut on his shoulder and he hit his head pretty hard. I don't think there is going to be any permanent damage but he is going to need some healing time. Are you related to him?"

"No." Dylan said softly. "I'm his boyfriend. I tried to call his parents but they didn't pick up." Dylan sniffled.

"You can see him if you want. He most likely won't be able to respond. The police are on their way. They want to get a statement from you. Don't worry son," he put his hand on Dylan's shoulder. "We'll get whoever did this to him."

"Thanks." Dylan managed to say as he walked past the doctor into Marcos room. He burst into tears just looking at him. He was just laying there. Wires and tubes connected to his body, just laying there on top of him, like just because he wasn't awake he wouldn't care. And the worst part was his head. They had shaved it. It would kill Marco to see that. Dylan and everyone else who knew Marco knew that his hair was his life. Dylan looked around for any mirrors so he could stash them now but sighed in relief when he saw there weren't any. He walked slowly to Marcos bedside and leaned down close to him.

"Marco?" He whispered. Dylan stroked Marco's cheek. It was still soft. Even after all that he had gone through. All the images flashed through his mind once more. Him and Marco were have a great time, laughing, smiling. They were teasing each other so Dylan tickled him on his sides. His worst ticklish spot. To get away Marco ran into the street and didn't see that car...

Dylan got goose bumps thinking about the scene. Replaying over, and over in his head. He flew at least 50-STOP! Stop thinking about it Dylan! He roared to himself in his mind. A few more tears subtly came down his face. He focused on Marco's features. He was still beautiful. Even under all those wires. He leaned into his face and softly kissed him on his olive toned cheek. He set his head down on the uncomfortable polyester mattress. Marco deserved more.

Dylan heard footsteps behind him and then loud sobs. He lifted his head and turned around to see Mrs. Delrossi, clutching her chest and holding her hand over her mouth. Her husband had to hold her up as she collapsed to her knees. Dylan got up and couldn't find the words to say to them. Utter shock and fear were in both of their eyes. Dylan walked over and offered Mrs. Delrossi his hand. She took it and rose back to her feet. She hurried over to Marco's side and wailed.

"My baby! My baby! Nooo." She sobbed heavily and stroked his forehead.

Mr. Delrossi stayed in the doorway. He was too shocked to even move. A few tears rolled down his round face. Dylan didn't know what to do. He just stood there. The only sounds were the cries of Marco's mom. Should he comfort his mom? Walk out the door? Talk to his dad? He wasn't sure. So he just stayed where he was. No one spoke. After a while the silence became defining. Everyone knew they wanted to say something. But the words wouldn't come. Dylan's legs were killing from staying in place so long. He stumbled to a chair on the other side of the bed and sighed.

"Why?" Mr. Delrossi's voice came like a brick through a window, shattering the silence that hung heavy in every inch of the room. "Why?" He came from the doorway and stood next to his wife, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Why? Dylan's mind was racing. Why? Why would a person with such a golden soul as Marco have such a bad thing happen to them? Why? How could someone just hit someone and drive off? His heart ached. He wanted to rip all those wires and tubes off of him and embrace him and make everything all right. But he couldn't. He couldn't even kiss him on the cheek. He started to cry again but quickly wiped them away before anyone could notice. What time was it anyway? He looked at his watch and realized it had only been 2 and a half hours since it happened. It seemed so much longer. It felt like forever.

"Excuse me?" Everyone looked up. There was a tall man standing in the doorway. He was wearing a police uniform and was holding his hat in one hand. "The doctor told me I could find a Dylan Michalchuk in here."

Dylan got up slowly. "I'm Dylan."

"Could you come with me?" The cop asked him quietly. Dylan nodded and followed him outside the room. They walked down the hall to a part that was nearly deserted. "I understand that you saw what happened to your friend." Dylan nodded again. "Could you tell me all that happened?" Dylan didn't do anything this time. He wasn't sure he could live it again. Describing every detail. The images going through his mind once again. But he knew he would have to do it sooner or later. Dylan began the story. He got through it best he could, crying a few times. He finished and wiped his eyes.

He and the officer walked back to Marco's room. "Thanks for all your help son." He continued walking down the hall. Dylan looked into the room to find neither of the Delrossi's had moved. He didn't want to leave but he thought it best to leave them alone with their son. He silently blew a kiss to him, since neither of his parents were looking, and walked out the door. He walked all the way home. He didn't bother go and get is car from the sidewalk where it was parked. He just didn't care. It wasn't important anymore. He got into the house to find Paige lying on the couch flipping through a magazine.

"Where have you been all day?" Her voice ringed through the room as she turned over onto her back and then sat up.

"The hospital." Dylan said weakly.

"What? Why were you there?" She said sharply.

"It's Marco. He got hit by a car." He choked on the words as they spilled from his lips. He looked at Paige. She put her hand over her mouth.

"Wh-wh-what? Marco?" Tears began to swell up in her eyes. "How? Is he ok?"

"The doctor said he would be." It was the first time that actually sank into Dylan. He had been saying it to himself all day but for the first time it seemed real. "His parents are there now. I'm going back tomorrow. You should come." He had decided that on the way over. He invited Paige not just because he knew she would want to come but because he needed support.

"Yeah." She was taking it all in. Marco? In the hospital? Hit by a car? How could it be? She got up from the couch and ran to Dylan. They hugged each other. It was the only comfort he had felt in a while. He let go of her and without a word he walked to his room and fell asleep.


	2. Out unintentionally

Yes I know this is a bit early for an update, but its probably the last time ina while. Computer issues people. I'm very sorry.

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Dylan impatiently waited in his car for his sister Paige.

"I can't believe she is taking this long." He said to himself lying back in the seat. She was taking a while considering where they were going. He honked his horn, telling her to hurry. Sure enough she walked out the door a few seconds later, looking slightly distraught. She opened the passenger door and got in, slamming the door so fast it almost caught onto her hair.

"Ready?" Dylan questioned her. She gave a nod and they pulled out of the driveway. Paige noticed the recklessness of his driving and it shocked her. She had always known him to be very careful when driving. He had other things on his mind however. Driving safely was not one of them at the moment. He prayed Marco would be conscious again so he could actually talk to his love.

Soon enough they pulled into the hospital parking lot and were off to his room. They walked briskly to where Dylan remembered his room to be and then slowed down before they got to the door. He peeked inside to find Marco lying down. He was ecstatic to see his eyes were open. He stood in the doorway and knocked on the wall. "Mr. Del Rossi you have a visitor." He said in a deep voice.

Marco turned his head and a smile spread across his face. "Dylan!" He said excitedly. Even though it was kind of hard to speak at all.

Dylan ran over to Marco's bed and fell on his knees. He kissed Marco tenderly on the cheek as tears ran from his eyes. "You're awake!" He choked out, grabbing Marcos hand and entwining it with his own.

Next came Paige. She walked to the left of Dylan and kneeled by the bed. "Marco?" She said, still in shock. She stared at his head. She had never seen Marco without hair. It was actually kind of sad.

Marco noticed where her gaze had drifted and let out a small chuckle. "Like my new do Paige?" She couldn't help but smile. He always did that to her. "I was thinking we could do the same to you. Then we could be twins." At that Dylan fell back laughing. His sister? Shave her head? The thought was just too hysterical.

After he had regained his breath Dylan stood up and brought a chair to the side of Marco's bed. "You feeling all right?" He asked Marco, trying to be serious.

Marco looked at Dylan. "I'm feeling better. I have a bit of a headache though." Dylan put his hand on Marco's head.

"Want me to get a nurse?" Paige questioned. Marco gave a nod and she got up and walked out of the room. Finally they were alone.

Dylan bent over Marco and kissed him softly on the lips. Marco gladly returned it as much as he could. "Love you." He whispered in Dylan's ear. He kissed Dylan, more passionately this time. They continued kissing each other until they heard a scream from the door. Dylan quickly let go and turned around. To his horror he saw Mrs. Del Rossi clutching her husband. His eyes were filled with hate and disgust.

"Get off my son!" He screamed at Dylan. He stormed over and threw him onto his back causing the chair to topple over. "Who do you think you are? Kissing my son!" Dylan looked at Marco and his heart dropped. There were tears streaming from his eyes and he was holding his forehead.

Mrs. Del Rossi walked over to her husband in an attempt to calm him down put her hand on his shoulder. She started to talk to him in Italian. Dylan was pretty sure she was cussing him out. He knew that Marcos mom knew about their relationship and approved of it. But he also new Mr. Del Rossi was severely homophobic. Dylan gave him a look and mouthed the words _I'm sorry._

Marco understood. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. His parents were still yelling at each other and Marco could hardly keep his eyes open. He drifted asleep.

Dylan however could not just fall asleep. He was stuck, sitting on the cold hospital floor watching the two Italians have it out with each other. He looked around and saw the door was still open, and then he remembered Paige. She was still out looking for a nurse. And as if on queue a nurse walked in. The Del Rossi's turned around when they heard the approaching footsteps.

Paige walked in behind her and was confused when she saw Dylan lying on the floor. Dylan saw this as a chance to get away and quickly got up and pulled Paige out of the room with him. They were walking down the hall when Paige stopped and pushed her brother to the side. "What exactly happened in there?" She questioned sternly.

"They...he...we were kissing. And his parents... they saw us." He struggled to get the right words out of his mouth. "Then his dad... he pushed and they started to fight. Marco probably hates me." He slid down the wall and put his head in his hands. "How could I let this happen?"

Paige sunk to her brother's level and lifted his head. "It's not your fault. You wanted to kiss your boyfriend. You didn't know his parents were gong to come in that exact moment." Dylan knew her words were true but he couldn't to accept them. They just wouldn't sink in.

"Should I go back in there?" He asked her, looking down the hall.

"Do you want to?"

"I... I don't know. I think I should." The two siblings got up and walked back in the direction of Marco's room. Before they could enter, the Del Rossi's walked out of the room and froze face to face with them. It was like an old west shootout. Whoever pulled their guns out first would dominate but not necessarily win.

Dylan opened his mouth to say something but was cut short by Mr. Del Rossi's words. "Stay away from my son. I don't know what the hell was happening in there and I don't want to know. But If I find out you have come back here I swear I will-"

"Don't!" Mrs. Del Rossi snapped at him. She had seen the anger being built up in Dylan's eyes and didn't either one to snap out on each other. She pulled her husband away from the two teens and began to yell at him in Italian some more as they walked away.

Dylan and Paige continued into Marco's room to find that he was still asleep. That didn't surprise them at all. The nurse was still in there and she instructed them to give him the headache medication when he woke up. The quickly obliged and she walked out of the room. They sat down and Dylan told his sister about everything that had happened while she was gone. Not once did his eyes leave Marco. He was still blaming himself for the fact that Marco had had to deal with that so early in his recovery.

They sat there for another hour until Marco began to stir. He opened his eyes slightly to see the two of them sitting across from each other playing cards. _They must have brought them with them._ He thought.

"Dylan." He whimpered out quietly. It was like a magic word that made him power up. He sprang from his seat and charged towards Marco's bedside. For the first time he noticed that the chair had been picked up. He sat down on it and wrapped his hand around Marco's.

"How you feelin'?" He asked compassionately.

"Good. Where are my parents?" He inquired, still sounding a bit weary.

Dylan looked at Paige who shrugged, causing him to answer this one on his own. "They left..." He didn't know what else to say.

"Oh." Marco said. You could hear the disappointment in his voice. This made Dylan feel even worse.

"I could go and ask the doctor to call them." He said trying to make up to Marco for his parents leave.

"No. I want you here." This brightened Dylan up and he had the urge to kiss him. But he stopped himself. That's what caused all this trouble in the first place. Marco felt what he was thinking. He carefully lifted up his arm and put it behind Dylan's head, slowly closing the gap between their lips and enveloping them in a passionate kiss.

They were interrupted by Paige's voice ringing through the room. "I don't mind the fact that you want to share a moment an' all but you do have some more company." They both looked at her disappointed but then couldn't help but laugh when they saw the look she was giving them.

"You wanna kiss too?" Marco joked.

"Ha ha. Very funny." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She pulled her chair to the other side of Marco's bed and the three of them talked for a few more hours. It started to get late and much to their dismay they had to go home. "School tomorrow." Paige reminded them. Dylan kissed him one last time and they were off. Dylan drove much better this time and to Paige's relief, much safer. Soon enough they were home.

"I'm beat." Dylan said rubbing his eyes. "I'm just going to go to bed."

"Me too." Paige replied. And they went to their bedrooms and did exactly that.

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Did you like it? Huh? Huh? Huh? stares at you 0.0

Well R&R please!


	3. What now?

Thanks so much for all the reviews. I'm not exactly as happy as I could be with this chapter but ehh, whatever. And just a mental note that I totally hate myself for all the torture Marco is going through rigt now. I'm like hitting myself for writing it. But it makes me feel better to know you guys like it. Well I'll let you continue with the story now.

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Paige lay in her bed, staring at her alarm clock and waiting for it to ring. She hadn't got much sleep that night and she was trying to get any last seconds to hopefully sooth her restless mind. How could it be? Marco was having the time of his life and then suddenly it all ended. Now his world was breaking apart around him.

Across town Marco was thinking the same thing. He knew his dad would find out someday but he didn't want it to happen like this. He hadn't got much sleep even though his exhaustion was beginning to overcome him. His mind just kept wrapping around the scene that had happened the day before. He was comforted by the fact that Dylan had the courage to come back to his room. He wasn't sure exactly what had happened but he thought the best of his boyfriend and he figured it was something gallantly dumb.

Back at the Michalchuk residence Paige had finally gotten out of bed, her quest for sleep had proved to be useless. She jumped into the shower and tried to think of other things beside her friend. It wasn't working. She got out and quickly got dressed and did her hair just right before walking out the door to catch the bus.

Getting to school way before there were any signs of important life was not exactly fun. She went to her locker and even had enough time to rearrange most of it before Hazel showed up behind her.

"Hey." She said casually. She took another look at her friend and noticed the slight rings that had formed under her eyes. "Long night?"

"Are you psychic or do I actually look that bad?" Paige inquired turning to give Hazel one of her signature looks.

"You don't look that bad, but your eyes are all puffy. What happened?" She said concerned. If anyone was about getting beauty sleep it was Paige.

Paige thought about her answer before deciding exactly what to say. "Its not what's wrong with me. Its what's wrong with Marco." She received puzzled looks from her friend before continuing. "He… he was in an accident. He's in the hospital. Since Saturday."

The bell rang so she closed her locker and continued telling Hazel all that happened. Of coarse Hazel wasn't the type who could keep secrets so by third period half the school already knew why Marco was absent that day. She was however, careful enough to leave out what happened with his parents.

Lunch rolled around quickly as it did whenever there was new gossip around school. The two girls quickly found each other and sat down at their usual table along with Spinner Jimmy and Craig. And one empty seat where Marco usually would be.

"So? Are all these rumors about Marco true? He's in the hospital?" Craig asked the table. Jimmy shrugged and as if it had been rehearsed both Paige and Hazel nodded in unison. "Wow." He said and took a sip of his soda.

Spinner who was obviously confused, had to be told numerous times about the events of the weekend. They all planned to go there after school. His friends were eager to see him in all his bald glory.

"His dad actually did that?" Jimmy said concerned.

"Yeah. But it would probably be best if we didn't talk about it today." The bell rang and she got up from her chair. "Meet me at my house. Come around… lets say 3. I'll drive." Paige said before turning away from the boys and walking with Hazel to their next class. "I think he'll be happy to see us. He needs some anti-drama right now." Paige stated.

---------------------------------------------------Marco lay in his bed. Just as he had been doing all day. He looked out the window for the tenth millionth time hoping for a new view. He knew it was impossible for the scenery outside just to change for no reason but he could hope.

That's pretty much all he had. Hope…

He hoped this little "vacation", as he called it, in the hospital would be over soon and nothing would be wrong with him. He hoped his dad wouldn't hate him and better yet, someday actually accept him. He hoped that his friends could be here. He looked over at the clock on the wall and saw that school was already out.

"Right now I would be on my way home, going to do my homework." He said quietly to himself pressing himself further into the uncomfortable mattress. It was sad that even doing homework sounded better than what he was doing right now. It horrified him to think of all the work he was going to need to catch up on. Maybe that's why homework sounded so nice right now.

He looked out the window again to find exactly what he had found before. The tops of a few trees and in the distance a freeway still humming with cars. A bird flew by and it made him more excited than any sane man. But soon enough it was gone and the glimmer of hope he still had for the window faded away.

His gaze returned to the clock. Only 3:37. Marco heard a slight tapping coming from the door and turned to see Paige's face in the little window, which made it slightly funny. He waved his hand as a sign for her to come in and to his surprise Hazel, Craig, Spinner, and Jimmy followed.

"You guys. I'm so glad you're here." There was one hope that had been accomplished. In his mind he set the others aside. For now it was time to relax and talk with his friends.

"Snazzy… uh… head you got there." Jimmy said keeping the straightest face he could.

"Ha ha." Marco said, rolling his eyes.

"Its like a five o' clock shadow on your head." Craig joked, causing the whole room to laugh. Except for Spinner. He had a fake smile plastered on his face as he crossed his arms and leaned against the nearest wall.

It was easy to see that he was uncomfortable. Marco had an idea why. He probably knew about what had happened with his dad and Dylan and everything. Even though Spinner was the one to set him and the blonde up he still wasn't as comfortable around the fact he was gay.

_Get over it Spinner. Just deal._ He said to himself a little worried of another scene breaking out.

The rest of the teens noticed his silence to but they chose to ignore it for the same reason. The reason they came there was for anti-drama.

"So, how was school without me?" Marco asked shattering the awkward silence.

"Not the same. And just to let you know half the school already knows what happened. Thanks to Hazel." Paige said looking at her friend who had turned a light shade of pink.

"You know I can't keep a secret…" She murmured causing another round of laughter to go through the room.

"Its good to see you're back in good spirits." Said a voice from the door causing everyone to turn his or her head. It was Mrs. Del Rossi. There was no husband hanging on her arm however. She had come alone. She took a few steps into the room towards her son and touched his cheek.

She turned around to the group of friends, which were watching her every move. "Do you mind if I talk to my son in private for a bit?"

They all nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. "What do you think happened?" Paige questioned her friends. After she got a few shrugs from them she decided to answer her own question. "It can't be good."

Spinner was still silent. He had found another wall to lean on and had isolated himself from the group.

"What the hell is your problem?" Jimmy said angrily, walking up to Spinner.

"Wh…what?" He replied, obviously caught off guard.

"You heard me. Why do you look like you're about to meet your maker when we're all trying to cheer up a friend in the damn hospital?" He retorted, angrier than before.

"What are you talking about? Did you get hit with a basketball or something? Nothings wrong with me!" Spinner snapped back.

"Both of you just shut up!" Craig yelled as he walked towards the two. "We are here for Marco. Talk about your own problems on your own time."

They all looked at each other. "Fine, but he better step it up." Jimmy pointed at Spinner and turned away peeking into the little window to see Marco and his mom both with very sad looks on their faces. They looked on the verge of tears.

"But ma…" Marco whimpered.

"Honey, I don't like the idea either. But your Pa, he is very upset. Maybe when you are better he will change his mind. But right now he just needs some time." She leaned down and hugged Marco and then kissed him on the cheek before getting up from her chair and returning to full height. "I have to go. You're friends can stay as long as you like."

She turned around and walked to the door. Opening it, she received many looks of confusion before going down the hall. The friends piled back into the room. Marco wiped away his tears before anyone noticed they were there.

"Hey guys." He said, trying to sound as casual as possible. It didn't fool anyone.

"What happened?" Hazel asked as she put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"He…he kicked me out. He doesn't want me to come back…ever." Tears began to form in his eyes again.

They all understood that he was talking about his dad. They all understood that his parents meant the world to him. Marco didn't understand why his dad was taking it so hard. Marco did however understand the five words that he needed to hear.

He looked at Spinner. Spinner looked back and replied. "We're here for you Marco."

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Awwww...-hugs spinner then glares at him evily- Anyways, hope you liked it. Remember to R&R! 


	4. Secrets

**Thanks so much for all the reviews. You guys help motivate me to keep writing this story. Heres a new chapter for ya!**

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The breeze was blowing around his long brown hair as he sat up against a tree and stared at the clouds. They were very fluffy and pure white. The sun was out and it warmed his skin that wasn't hidden from the shade of the tree. Life was perfect. He ran his hand along the grass that he sat on. It was so soft that he could easily have fallen asleep there. Someone grabbed on to his shoulder and shook him lightly. 

"Mr. Del Rossi… Mr. Del Rossi?" A woman's voice came from the sky. "Wake up sir."

Marco opened his eyes slightly to find a nurse standing above him. It had just been a dream. Figured. Life would probably never be that perfect for him.

"Its good to see that you're doing better." She said softly.

He was doing better it was the first dream he had had in a week. His usual nightmares consisting of his dad, cars, and evil doctors had finally ceased. It may have been small but it made him feel much better to not be reminded of everything that had happened every time he woke up sweating and screaming.

"Don't call me that. Call me Marco." He said opening his eyes a little more and facing the nurse.

"Ok then Marco, its time to change your bandages." He knew the drill. He turned on his side to let the nurse untie his gown and get to his shoulder. She slowly pulled it down over the wound and then grabbed a pair of scissors.

CLIP 

He winced slightly. He was used to it but the initial shock always caused him a bit of pain. Plus it was sore because he had been laying on it. She did the rest quickly before cleaning it and replacing the thread back into his skin. Now was the worst part.

"Ok. Turn over a little more." The nurse instructed. He listened obediently and shifted to his stomach. She carefully got a new pair of scissors and cut of the gauze attached to the back of his head. He winced again. This was painful. No matter how used to it he was. She continued to clip off the bandages and then when she finished with that continued on with the stitches on his head. She took out a bottle with cleaning formula in it and slightly dabbed it on his head. It was cold so he shivered lightly.

After new stitches and bandages he turned back over onto his side. His shoulder was still stinging and he didn't think laying on it would be a good idea.

"Are you almost ready to get back home? I bet it sounds pretty comforting right now." The nurse said as she put all the utensils away.

"Uh yeah, sure." He said unsteadily, caught off guard by the question.

"You ok?" She turned to look at him.

He wasn't sure what to tell her. She seemed trustworthy enough, and he needed to vent a little. "No. I don't have a home to go back to…" He looked back up at her.

"Oh… I'm sorry… I didn't know." She began to push her cart away.

"Stop!" She turned around to face him. "Its ok." He didn't know what else today but she understood to some extent.

"You wanna tell me about it?" She took a step back towards his bed. "You know talking about your problems is said to be the best way to deal with them."

Marco nodded. "What's your name?"

"Maria. Ugly I know." Her cheeks turned slightly pink and she looked at her shoes.

"No. I think its pretty." She looked back up at him and smiled.

"Enough about me. My problems are easier to sort out. Lets talk about you Mr. Del… uh… Marco." This made Marco smile. He raised himself slightly off his bed and turned to his other shoulder so he could see her more clearly. She had light red hair that was slung back into a messy ponytail and freckles were splattered across her nose and cheeks. Her eyes were a light gray speckled with small gold flecks and so mesmerizing that Marco had to blink a few times to get out from under their spell.

"Well for now lets just say my dad hates me and wont let me back because he refuses to accept a ga…" he stopped himself. He had been rambling on and didn't realize what he was leading to before it was too late.

An awkward silence rested in the room. Marco looked away from Maria and picked at one of his nails.

"I think he'll get over it. My mom did…" She saw how shocked he was by that last comment because he quickly looked at her with his mouth slightly agape. "Yeah. I know."

"You're…"

"Yep. I thought my mom would never forgive me. But she realized I told her because I didn't want to lie to her." She pulled up a chair and sat down, still looking at Marco.

"It's worse then you think. I didn't tell him anything. He came to visit me here and… he saw me. I was kissing my boyfriend." He looked back up at her.

"Ouch."

"Then he threw him out of a chair across the floor to right there." He pointed at the spot where Dylan had landed.

"Wow. That's one hell of a bad reaction. I think it may have just been the shock of it." She tried to reassure him.

"He is the most homophobic man I know." He sighed. The poor girl was trying to make him feel better and all he was doing was making him self feel worse. "I'm sorry. Its hard not to feel sorry for yourself when you're in a gown that doesn't cover your butt."

Maria laughed. "Well your able to still make fun of yourself so it probably isn't as hard as you think." She looked over at the clock. "I got to go or I'm going to lose my job. I see you around Marco." She got up from her chair and pushed it back to its original spot.

"See you." He replied as she walked out the door pushing her cart. He had a feeling that she changed something that no one else had the ability to. He felt a sense of calming, like everything was going to be ok. He grabbed the glass of water and the pills that she had left on his counter. He rose to a sitting position and swallowed them. Slowly after he drifted asleep.

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Jimmy had let Spinners strange reaction in the hospital go. The words he spoke to Marco over a week ago had overthrown whatever he thought may have caused it. But it hadn't left Spinners mind. He walked down the halls with his head high only to hide any pain he felt. Spinner had a reason for acting so unreasonably to him. It was because he blamed himself. He hadn't thought this way at first. First he told himself that it was Marco's fault. That if he weren't gay he would have never been with Dylan that day he wouldn't have gotten hit. Then he blamed Dylan. For getting him hit and then getting him caught by his dad. But now he came to the conclusion that it was his fault. If he had never gotten Marco and Dylan together then it never would have happened. Plus he was in the car. 

The images played in his mind as much as they did in Dylan's. Except his view was different. He was in the passenger seat of a car yelling at Jay who was drunk and was driving way to fast. Jay turned to yell back at him and when he yelled back he stomped on the breaks causing the tires to squeal and the car to slide. The car hit something causing a loud thud. Spinner looked out the front window and saw a familiar face lying in the street in front of him. He wasn't sure if Marco actually was what he saw but then he saw a man with curly blonde hair run up to him. It was no other then his girlfriend's brother, and Marco's boyfriend, Dylan. Jay began to speed off and Spinner just sat there. He was too much in shock to stop him.

He stopped at his locker. He told himself that he would be caught. He told himself that it wasn't his fault. But nothing he could tell himself worked. So he decided to tell somebody else. Who it was, he didn't know yet. But he was going to have to do it soon. He felt that if he didn't the secret might slip out some other way.

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**No I am not tryong to make Spinner evil. I just needed someone and I think he would be the most likely to do this. Anyways hope you guys enjoyed it. Remember to review!**


	5. Under the Covers

**Yes I know you probably wanted more on Spinner and all that junk but I'm not totally sure what I wanted to do with that yet so this is basically all about Marco and Dylan. Enjoy!**

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Marco grabbed the last of his things and stuffed them into the bag on his bed before pressing down on it firmly and zipping it up. His mother had brought the bag on one of her regular visits, which she was telling her husband was a "shopping trip" or a "quick errand". He sighed and plopped down next to his bag facing the window, and the never changing view; he had seen the past 2 weeks. His head fell down to his chest and he let his hand wander to the scar on the back of his head. He winced slightly as his fingered brushed against the stitches that needed to remain there a while longer. 

As Marco pulled his hand away he heard approaching footsteps coming down the hall. It was a common sound for he had figured out his room was on an overly used hallway. They usually quickly went by and slowly disappeared as soon as they had come but these just grew closer. Marco didn't think anything of them and he quickly tuned them out and returned his gaze to the window.

A soft hand grabbed his shoulder and he felt hot breath on his skin as someone came up behind him and whispered in his ear. "Hey sexy." Marco instantly recognized the voice and turned his head with a brilliant smile to Dylan, whose face wasn't more than an inch away from his own.

"Hey." He whispered back before covering Dylan's lips with his own, enveloping them in a soft kiss. He pulled away reluctantly and stared back into his boyfriends blue eyes, smiling widely.

Dylan moved slightly away and hopped over the bed to sit next to Marco. He wrapped his arm over the younger boys shoulder and pulling him lightly onto his shoulder. Marco happily rested his head there for a few moments; eager to have his head lay on something besides the strange wrapping of the hospital pillows. He was happy just to sit there and could've stayed forever if permitted to but he knew the hospital would grow weary of an unwounded man taking occupancy in its walls.

_But where do I go…_His mind trailed back to the touchy but unavoidable topic of where he would be staying. At this point he was homeless… literally homeless.

"I can't believe you actually had that as your view the whole time here." Dylan's voice broke the silence and he lowered his gaze from the window onto Marco. His eyes were glazed over in thought and he hadn't even heard the mood lightening comment of the boy he rested on.

Marco blinked a few times and found Dylan staring at him. "Wh-what? Did you say something?" He fumbled out. Dylan smiled at him and read his thoughts through his worried eyes. He was fully aware of the situation his companion had found himself in.

"No." He turned away and looked at his hands; unsure of the words he desperately searched for in his mind. "I was thinking… you don't have a place to stay and umm… I uhh…" He wasn't sure why his mind was so jumbled up about asking this. He was usually very comfortable around Marco and often let things out around him that he would tell no one else.

Marco saw the redness begin to build on his cheeks and he couldn't help but laugh. His outburst didn't help Dylan's situation any and he knew that but he found his boyfriends face unbearably funny and it would be useless to try and hold his mirth in.

He leaned towards Dylan's face and kissed him on the cheek as soon as he regained his breath. "I'll be happy to stay with you." He reassured him lightly, a grin spreading across his face.

Dylan breathed a sigh of relief and his normal skin tone returned to his face, even though he still felt unbelievably stupid for being so embarrassed in front of Marco.

Marco was strangely glad about the moment. For once the tables had turned and he wasn't the one who was a making a fool of himself when they were together. He wrapped his arms around Dylan's muscular build embracing him in a hug that was gladly returned a moment later.

"I feel like an idiot." Dylan confessed smiling slightly at his own actions. He turned to look at Marco to find his deep brown eyes staring back at him, his chin lightly atop the blondes shoulder.

"You are an idiot." He joked. "But I like you that way." Marco kissed Dylan on the lips once more before getting up and pulling his perfectly packed bag over his shoulder causing him to lose his balance and fall onto Dylan's lap.

"Oh yeah, I'm the idiot." He threw back, rolling his eyes and taking the boy in his arms and helping him to his feet. They both laughed at themselves for when they were around each other, this type of mirth seemed to follow. Dylan picked the bag up and threw it over his shoulder with much more ease than the smaller boy.

Marco glared at the smile his boyfriend shot at him just causing it to widen even more, if that was even possible. He pushed Dylan lightly and walked towards the door motioning like a royal servant and bowing to let Dylan pass him.

Dylan shook his head lightly and walked past the bending boy lightly grasping his chin. He pulled him up to full height and out of the door keeping his finger on the boys skin. Marco looked up at him and smiled before receiving a kiss from his taller boyfriend.

"Thank you." Marco whispered as they released each other's lips and began to walk down the hallway.

"No need to thank me. I will be happy to do that many, manymore times." He knew quite well that Marco wasn't talking about their kiss but it brought a wider smile to the boy's face just as he had hoped it would.

"You are an idiot." He replied grasping Dylan's free hand with his own. Dylan chuckled at the jest and led them both back to his parked car.

* * *

"Hello? Anyone here?" Dylan called out as he peeked his head into the door. He walked inside and set his keys down on a table behind the couch.

"I'm in here Dyl." His sister's voice floated from the kitchen into the two boys ears. Marco had followed Dylan inside and leaned comfortably against the headboard of the couch turning back towards the door he had closed behind him.

"Where is that air mattress we use on camping trips?" He questioned her opening a closet to begin his search.

"Upstairs in the hallway closet." Paige replied from the other side of the door. "Why do you ask?"

Dylan turned to Marco who put a finger over his lips and smiled, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"I've got… company." He said calmly. But the lack of information caused Paige to come investigating for herself and she walked from the kitchen almost bumping into Dylan who was on his way to the stairs.

Her gaze fell onto a lightly built boy sitting on her couches armrest and looking at he wall opposite him. "Who is that?" She said softly to her brother slightly intrigued by what she saw of the boy.

"Just a friend. Why?" It was a good thing Paige was staring so intently at what she hadn't recognized as Marco because Dylan's face was overly contorted at his attempts to detain his laughter.

Marco had heard the exchange and was barely able to keep his own face straight.

Dylan pretended that he had just caught on to what she was implying and grabbed his sister's shoulder. "He's not your type." He stated plainly.

"And how exactly would you know what my 'type' is?" She whispered and looked back at her brother who had gotten his face back to a smile.

"Why don't you go find out for yourself?" Dylan began to walk back up the stair but stopped half way up to see the exchange between the two younger teens.

Paige rounded the couch slowly and sat about a foot away from the mysterious stranger. She held out her hand towards him. "I'm Paige Michalchuk. Dylan's sister. An-"

"And you hit on anything that moves." He said sternly before turning his face to her and smiling. "Including your best gay friend and your brothers boyfriend." With that Dylan burst out laughing and had to hold on to the railing so he didn't fall down the steps. Paige's jaw dropped and she pushed Marco off the armrest causing his own fit of laughter to erupt into the room.

"That was mean!" She scolded them. But she had to regain her dignity somehow. "I keep forgetting that you don't have your hair anymore." Her cheeks flushed crimson at her own misfortune.

"I couldn't resist. And apparently you can't either." Marco said to her as he got up from the floor and plopped down next to her. She gave him an evil glare causing him to wrap his arm around her shoulder. "Ahhh you know I love you." She smiled at him accepting his vague apology.

"So you're going to stay here for a while?" She asked him, eagerly trying to change the subject.

"Its not like I have anywhere else to go. Plus I would rather stay here than anywhere else." He replied.

Paige looked up the stair to her brother rummaging through the hallway closet. Marco followed her gaze and answered her unspoken question. "Dylan invited me." She looked back at Marco and smiled.

"I figured. Where do you want to sleep? We've got the guest room, my room, the attic…"

"I think he'd would be more comfortable in my room." Dylan called downstairs, returning from the closet with a box.

"Yeah. I'd have to agree." Marco looked at Paige's face, which was covered in a wide grin.

"Oh, I see." She got up from the couch and returned to whatever she had been doing in the kitchen.

Marco followed her lead and left the living room, climbing up the stairs back to Dylan. He followed him into the room where he began to blow up the airbed.

"Well that looks comfortable." He cringed at the mattress, and looked over at Dylan.

"And that's why I'm sleeping on it." He smiled back up at the younger boy.

"You don't have to give up your bed to me." Marco frowned sympathetically.

"I know but you just got out of the hospital. And I wouldn't get any sleep thinking of you on this thing."

"What if nobody used it?" Marco asked and looked over at Dylan's bed.

"Than that would make me a very happy guy." He grabbed Marcos hand and led him over to his bed kissing him softly on the lips. Marco returned the kiss and lightly pushed Dylan down to a sitting position crawling onto the bed next to him. He grabbed Dylan's collar and fiddled with the top button playfully.

Dylan slipped his hand over Marcos back pulling him closer until he lay on top of him. They both scooted back to a more comfortable position and Marco licked Dylan's lips before pulling out of the kiss. He returned to undoing the buttons on his shirt before pausing and looking at his face.

"What's wrong?" He asked noticing Marco's apprehension.

"What if someone comes in?" Marco glanced at the door and then back at Dylan.

"My parents are on a business trip. They wont be back for at least two days." He tried to reassure his boyfriend.

"And Paige?"

"You've got a point there. She isn't one to keep her nose out of things." He bit his lip trying to come up with a solution. "I think we'll be ok."

"You sure? I don't know…" Marco replied worriedly.

"I'm sure."

"Fine." Marco shrugged off his own worry and returned to kissing the blonde. Dylan pulled the boys shirt off quickly, careful not to reopen any of his still healing wounds. Soon after Marco finished with his buttons and slid Dylan's shirt off past both of their hips.

Marco slipped his hand down Dylan's torso, reaching for the button on his jeans. He was stopped by Dylan's strong hand that had grabbed his own. Marco looked up questioningly and received a smile from his boyfriend.

"Wait a second." He whispered and Marco rolled off him. Dylan got up and pulled back the covers motioning for Marco to crawl underneath them. He quickly obliged and Dylan followed him in.

Marco rolled back over above Dylan placing his hands on each side of the boy and arching over to kiss him. Dylan put his hands on Marco's chest and rubbed it softly causing the younger teen to moan into his mouth. He slid his hand down and began to tug at the boy's pants. He unzipped them and tried to pull them down unsuccessfully.

Neither of them noticed the door until it was too late.

"Dyl do you know if- oh shit! Sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry!" Paige's voice rang through the room causing the couple to break their kiss and turn their heads in shock.

"Shit!" Marco screamed and pulled the covers over his head as he slipped off of Dylan and buried his face in the mattress.

"Paige, get out!" Dylan roared at his younger sister because she had frozen up in the doorway with her hand still on the doorknob and her other hand over her gaping mouth. Her brother's voice brought her back to the current situation and she quickly closed the door behind her leaning on it for support.

"I'm sorry." She called through the door. "I think I'm going to be sick." She said to herself before she made her way to the bathroom.

Marco was still huddled under the comforter his face a bright red. He mumbled something but it wasn't understandable because his lips were still pressed against the sheets.

"What?" Dylan asked him putting his hands on his face and rubbing it roughly. He couldn't believe that his little sister had just caught him.

"I said I told you." Marco spat out his head surfacing from the comforter he still held around his neck.

"That you did." Dylan slid his hand under Marco's cheek and gazed at him softly. "I'm sorry. I really didn't think she would come in."

Marco's eyes lightened. "I know." He looked at his hand still clutching the covers. "I'm gonna go change." He released his grip and pulled the blankets off him crawling over Dylan and off of the bed.

"I have some extra sleeping clothes in that drawer over there." He pointed to his dresser.

"Thanks." Marco quickly finished button his jeans and pulled on his shirt that had been tossed of the bed. He made his way to the drawer and grabbed a shirt and some sweats before quickly shutting it walking to the door. He peeked his head out and then slipped quietly into the hall and to the bathroom.

Inside he found Paige splashing cool water onto her face. She hoped it would take her mind off the funny but no less disturbing images in her mind. She was glad one of her best friends and her brother loved each other like they did but she didn't need to see it. She doused her skin once more in the icy liquid and grabbed blindly for a towel around her. She soon found one and looked up to find Marco in the doorway.

"Umm I need to use the bathroom… for just a second." He muttered not meeting her gaze.

"Yeah sure." She replied slipping past Marco to her own bedroom.

Marco shut the door behind her and set Dylan's clothes on the counter. He was never going to live this down. He changed quickly in hopes of avoiding another awkward moment with Paige but the thought was shattered when he met her in the hall again.

"Do you have an extra… umm… pillow or something? That I can use?" Marco asked her nervously. She nodded and motioned for him to follow.

She opened the same closet Dylan had been rummaging through earlier and found what she was looking for. "Here." She said as she handed him the pillow and found his gaze.

"Next time. I'll knock." She reassured him and walked down the stairs into the kitchen.

Marco smiled. Could it be possible that Paige was actually as embarrassed as he was? Judging by the redness on her cheeks she must have been. He moved back to Dylan's room where he found a fully blown up airbed. Dylan was sitting on the bed his elbows leaning on his knees and his head in his hands. He looked over at Marco who was moving onto the inflatable mattress.

"I already told you that your not gonna sleep on that thing." Dylan scolded the younger boy. "Get up here." He patted the mattress next to him. Marco quickly did as he was told.

"And neither are you. Just because we are in the same bed doesn't mean anything has to happen." Marco replied. Dylan laughed lightly.

"'Kay then." He reached over and grabbed Marco's pillow and pulled it onto the bed. They crawled back under the covers and Marco nestled his head on Dylan's shoulder.

"I love you." He whispered before swiftly falling asleep.

He kissed the younger boy softly on the forehead. "I love you too." He replied before falling into his own slumber. He smiled lightly in his sleep and neither of them was disturbed the whole night.

* * *

A sweet smell wafted slowly into the room bringing Dylan's senses back to him as he woke up. He shifted slightly and found that Marco was lying on his chest. Yawning widely he moved his hand to the boys head and rubbed it softly with his thumb. Marco rolled over releasing the blonde from his grasp and letting him get up from the bed. Dylan tiptoed lightly out of the room and down the stairs to find Paige cooking up a storm in the kitchen.

"Since when do you cook?" He asked sleepily yawning once more and making his way to a stool.

"Since I had nothing better to do." She replied absently. "I'm sorry." She mumbled just eligibly.

"For what." Dylan questioned her, slightly caught off guard.

"For you know… ruining… whatever." She answered as she turned to look at him.

"Oh… that. Its uhh… okay." He had almost forgotten about last nights little disaster.

"Okay." She turned back to the skillet that she was working on. "Want some pancakes?"

"Sure." Dylan knew that she was trying to change the subject and he happily followed her lead.

She scooped a few onto a plate and slid them across the island to Dylan. He grabbed a fork and shoved a few bites into his mouth greedily.

"These are pretty good. I didn't even know you knew what a stove was." He joked lessening the tension that had begun to build in the room.

"Ha ha. I'm better than you." Dylan chuckled at her comment. "Where's Marco?" She asked just noticing the boy's absence.

"Still sleeping. I thought I'd let him rest for a bit." He answered before shoving another forkful of pancakes into his mouth.

Paige nodded and slipped a few more pancakes onto a plate and sat down next to her brother.

"Actually he couldn't resist the smell of a home cooked meal and decided to investigate it for himself." A voice came from the doorway causing the siblings to jump. Marco laughed at them and entered the room grabbing his own seat across from the two.

"Good morning." They replied in unison.

"Have some pancakes. They are surprisingly good." Dylan instructed Marco.

"Who made them?" Marco asked as he grabbed a plate and placed a few on it before returning to his seat.

"Me." Page answered causing Marco to stop mid bite. "They're good!" She insisted.

"They are. My sister actually can cook. As shocking as that may seem." Dylan reassured the boy took a small bite.

"You're right." He took the rest off his fork and before he even stopped chewing had another forkful ready to be devoured.

They finished their meal quickly because Paige reminded them all that there was school today.

In what seemed like mere minutes the three were out the door and on their way to school.

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**Yay! I finally finished it. Hope you all enjoy it and remember to review!**


	6. Lost Forever?

**Yay new chappy! Thanks for all the reiews. You guys keep me going. Hopefully this will keep you happy for a bit!**

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Slightly transfixed on the sight of his school he began to walk up the front steps slowly. In truth he was glad to be back but he felt a strange feeling that he couldn't place mixed in with all the other emotions spilling through his brain. He shrugged it off and quickened his pace before entering the double doors of his familiar school. It was great to be back and he realized it fully as people rushed him with there own questions and concerns.

Through the crowd that was slowly dispatching as he waved them off he spied a redhead girl leaning against a row of lockers and smiling at him brilliantly. His attempts to get free of the mob finally fell through and he walked up to his friend smiling as big as she was.

"You are so well loved its scary." Ellie joked full heartedly.

"Being class president does have his perks…" Marco looked up indignantly before returning his gaze to the girl and embracing her in a warm hug. She was caught off guard by the gesture but quickly returned it. She had only visited him in the hospital once because of her busy schedule and feared that Marco would be angry with her.

He understood fully and been if he had wanted to be mad at Ellie he couldn't have. He slowly released her and looked at her fair skinned face. "I missed you." They began to walk to Marco's locker and she informed him on all the things that had happened while he was gone. In truth it had been a boring few weeks besides the rumors about his disappearance. There had been everything from "he died" to "he joined the army" floating around.

When he reached his locker he found it decorated brightly with streamers and signs consisting of the words "Welcome back!" and many others light hearted sayings. He couldn't help but smile. He really hadn't expected this much. He had actually thought his absence would be quite unnoticed.

"It must be a good feeling to have fans." Ellie joked. Marco shook his head lightly and opened up his locker retrieving his supplies for his first class.

He turned back to Ellie and the sight of Spinner walking down the hall towards them caught his attention. He was going to call out to him when Spinner met his gaze and headed back the other way almost running. Marco stayed were he was frozen in confusion. Why had Spinner turned so suddenly when he had seen him?

"Marco? You okay?" Ellie's words broke through Marco's silence.

"Uhh, Yeah. Fine, I'm fine." In truth he was still wondering about what had just happened but he chose not to confide that in Ellie. He told himself that he would to talk to Spinner about it later and his thoughts returned to school. The bell rang and he and Ellie said their goodbyes before parting to their separate classrooms.

On his way there he turned a corner without looking which caused him to bump in to someone. Hard. He was sent sprawling to the floor backwards and the other person landed beside him more or less as hard as he had.

His head bounced on the hard floor and he winced in pain shutting his eyes tightly. He rolled over onto his side and clutched his head where his stitches were still holding the last bits of his healing wound together. He opened his eyes slowly and felt as if the whole world was spinning around him.

He heard a grunt from behind him. It came from the person he had collided with seconds before. Willing his body to turn over he found Spinner laying next to him and slowly getting up from his stomach.

"Are you alright?" Marco forced out as a wave of nausea swept through his body. Spinner turned to face him and nodded quickly before returning his gaze to the floor.

"What about you?" He asked hoping that he hadn't caused any damage to his friend.

Marco pulled his hand away from his head and looked at it. It was covered in a dark red liquid. "No." He answered truthfully and grabbed his stomach as more nausea over took him.

Spinner saw the blood on Marco's hand and memories flooded his brain. This wasn't the first time he had seen Marco laying helplessly, bleeding from an injury he could have prevented. He pulled himself and Marco up, ignoring the ache that was enveloping his own body. "We need to get to the nurse." He wrapped Marco's arm around his own shoulders and half dragged half carried the boy to their destination. Spinner knocked roughly on the door not caring if his loudness disturbed anyone.

It was answered briskly by a slightly plump woman who looked a little agitated by the disturbance. Her face softened when her gaze fell upon Marco was now pressing most of his weight into Spinner causing the boy to stumble a bit. She quickly hurried the pair in and laid them down on separate beds that lay next to each other less than two feet apart. Spinner refused to lie down but his actions weren't noticed by the nurse who had started to inspect Marco's head. She pressed a cloth to where the blood was coming from and began to question Spinner about what had happened.

He quickly explained how they had run into each other and fell onto the ground harder then any of them would have liked. Especially Marco, who had taken most of the blow.

"This can be easily patched up. I need to go get the supplies though. Wait here while I'm gone." She walked out of the room and they heard her footsteps grow quieter until they were unheard. Spinner looked at Marco and sighed.

"Not again." He absent mindedly said. He hadn't even realized that he had said it out loud, and it was a mistake he would pay for dearly.

"What?" Marco gave a confused stare to his friend. "What do you mean 'not again'?"

Spinner stumbled lightly with his excuse. "I… can't believe… I uhh bumped into someone again. Second time today." He covered up his true motives for what he had spoken with a light laugh.

Marco was suspicious. Maybe it was the hard hit he had just been dealt but it felt as if Spinner wasn't talking about their fall. "It isn't even first period? And you were moving just fine before hand?"

Spinner winced inwardly. His heart was beginning to race and he felt he had no choice but to tell him now. "I'm sorry. I lied…" His voice trailed off and unable to meet Marco's eyes he put his head in his hands an exhaled deeply.

"What?" Marco's head was already spinning and trying to find the meaning behind his friend's cryptic words was not helping the matter.

"I was in the car. I didn't know he was that drunk, until he started to speed. I yelled at him to stop, but he wouldn't listen to me. It all happened so fast. I didn't know what to do." Unshed tears swelled at the corners of his eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"A car? Who was drunk? Spinner speak clearly, your not making any sense." Marco ground out unsure of anything that was happening.

"The car! It was Jay and me. He didn't see you… he didn't see you." Realization hit the boy and he was struck dumb.

"You… I was…" He couldn't find any words. The thought that his friend had been the cause of all this… Marco didn't want it to be real. He wanted to wake up from this horrible nightmare. "No. This can't be happening…" He pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes and tried to push away everything around him.

"I'm sorry." Spinner uttered quietly feeling the same anguish but in a different way.

"You're sorry?" Marco questioned, his mindset falling into anger. "My whole life spun out of everything good over the past few weeks and you're sorry? What about when I was dieing? What about when you drove off and left me in the middle of the street? Were you sorry then!" He was doing his best not to scream at the other boy but it was proving unsuccessful.

The room plunged into an awkward silence. Spinner didn't know what to say. It didn't really matter if he said anything. He feared he had lost his friend forever. The nurse walked back into the room with a tray and some other tools that neither of the boys cared enough about to notice. She quickly set the tray down on Marco's bedside table and turned him onto is side so she could administer whatever she needed to close up the wound.

Spinner lay down on his own bed and turned towards the wall. He didn't feel worthy of even seeing Marco right now. But even if he wanted to he knew he couldn't have looked anyway. His conscious was tugging at him and he wanted nothing more but to drop off the face of the earth at that moment.

The nurse finished with Marco and turned to Spinner. "What about you? Are you hurt?"

"No. I think I'll just have a bruise." He replied not turning around to face her.

"Then you can go. I'll write up a pass for you." She turned around and returned to her desk where she did just as she said. Spinner got up and followed her. She handed him the note and he left the small room without a sound.

The nurse got up from her seat and returned to Marco's bedside. "I am going to give you an excusable leave. We will call your parents and they can come pick you up."

"No." It came out as more of a scream then he had intended. "You can't call them." He lightened his tone not wanting to seem rude.

"I'm sorry but I have to. Unless you have another guardian, a sister, a brother…" Marco shook his head and frowned slightly.

"They don't want me home." He said barely whispering. He didn't want to let this woman low his full life story but this couldn't be avoided. "I'm not welcome in my home." His head turned away in shame. Being kicked out of his house was something a hoodlum or a troubled kid did. Not the president of a school.

"Do you have anywhere to go?" The lady asked, suddenly very concerned for the boy.

"I am staying at my bo… my friends' house. They are brother and sister and right now their both in class. No one else is home." He didn't have anywhere to go right now, and he was surprised he was actually speaking so calmly after the turn of events that had laid themselves out before him in the past few minutes.

"Well then I guess you have no choice but to stay here. You need rest. Whatever happened to your head before it was reopened looks bad enough. It wasn't fully healed and this over exertion has hurt you more then it seems." She grabbed a blanket from under the bed and unfolded it before laying it atop the boy. "You might as well sleep. That way you won't feel any nausea and the day will fly right by. Just tell me who you are staying with and they will be notified of where you are."

"Paige and Dylan Michalchuk." Marco replied. The nurse nodded and went to the other half of the room out of his view. His thoughts slipped back onto Spinner and in an attempt to diminish them he fell asleep.

* * *

Spinner had no intention of returning to class. His mind was swirling with Marco's words. 

"What about when I was dieing…Were you sorry then?" They replayed in through his head like a broken record. He clasped his hands to his ears in an attempt to make the voice go away. He looked around the hall he had turned into to find it deserted. He quickly ran out the front doors and down the steps. Without looking he crossed the street and didn't stop till he reached The Dot. His pace slowed to a steady walk into the back ally behind the popular diner and he slumped against the wall.

This was the place he had first lost Marco's friendship. The memories crushed him and he tried to block them out. Why did he always have to mess up? Marco never did anything wrong to him, yet somehow he always seemed to hurt him in one way or another.

He shook his head slowly and continuously. He wanted to forget everything. Any thought that entered his brain only worsened what he was feeling. Slightly sobbing involuntarily he slid down the wall and out his head in his hands. The rough surface cut lightly into his back and he winced.

"You deserve it." He said to himself harshly. "You only deserve pain. That's all you cause anyway." He banged his head against the wall and gasped. Not caring for the damage he was causing he slammed into the jagged surface once more. His breath drew in sharply as he collided with the wall once more. It wasn't enough. He brought his head forward till his chin touched his chest before rushing it back into the wall once more. This last hit had been the hardest and he fell to his side motionless. Unconsciousness consumed him and he didn't even know he was bleeding. A deep crimson substance was dripping from his head and it began to pool around him slowly. His pain was gone for the moment, but the hard blows he had taken might be more then just a temporary solution to his problems.

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I'm sorry for the horridly short chapter but I thought it would be a good place to stop. Hope you enjoyed it. REVIEW!**


	7. Confused

This part of the story is pretty fast paced so be ready to jump right into the action. ENJOY!

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"Marco… Wake up sleepy head." Dylan's soft voice rang through the silent room as he gently shook Marco's shoulder to rouse him into the waking world.

Marco's eyes fluttered open and he found himself staring into the light blue eyes of his boyfriend. "Dylan? Is it after school already? Did I actually sleep that long?" He rubbed his eyes and blocked them from the offending light overhead.

"Yes you did. But now its time to get up." He smiled lightly. Marco sat up and stood while he pushed on the bed for support.

"I'm hungry. Why don't we stop by the dot for some food on our way home?" He asked as they walked to his locker.

"Sure. I don't think Paige would mind. She's waiting for us in the car." On their way down the steps they saw Paige and sure enough she was waiting in the car. She was looking in the passenger side mirror and applying some lip-gloss. She looked up as she shoved it back into her purse and released a sigh of relief.

"Took you long enough." She chided as Marco hopped in behind her and Dylan slipped into the driver's seat.

"Hey blame him. He's the one that wouldn't wake up." Dylan smiled and pointed at Marco with his thumb, which earned him a playful shove from the younger boy.

They pulled into the parking lot of The Dot a few minutes later to find it packed. Every space was taken up and it didn't look like anyone was going to move anytime soon.

"Pull around the back. There should be some empty space and you could park there." Dylan nodded in agreement and turned his car around the building to the ally way that lay behind the restaurant.

"Perfect." He said as he easily slipped behind some boxes up against a fence. "I never thought of parking behind here."

"You have thoughts?" Paige teased stepping out of the car and flattening her miniskirt.

Marco tried to stifle a laugh unsuccessfully and Dylan glared at him, which didn't help matters much.

They walked through the ally laughing loudly and almost stumbling over most of the time because they were shaking so much. Suddenly Paige let out a scream and clasped her hands over her mouth.

"Paige? What's…" Marco's eyes grew wide in horror when he saw the crumpled up shape of a boy lying on his side and a pool of blood surrounding him.

Dylan rushed forward and dropped to his knee's hunching over the young boy to see if he was ok. "Oh my god." He shook his head to make sure if he was seeing straight. "Spinner?"

Paige started at the name. "Spinner?" She ran to her brother's side and began to shake Spinner vigorously. "Spinner! No, wake up!" Tears streamed down her face and she clutched her boyfriend by the arms.

Dylan stood up quickly. "I'm going to go get help." He ran off towards the restaurant leaving the others behind.

Marco stayed where he was not sure of what to do. He out of habit ran his hand across the top of his head. Instead of meeting the usual long hair he found his fingers sliding through almost nothing. A million thoughts passed across his mind. All consisting of the same words.

_It's your fault. If you hadn't been so mad at him this would have never happened. _

_It's all your fault._

_It's all your fault._

Marco clutched his stomach and ran towards the wall. His hands gripped it as he threw up the contents of his already empty stomach. The smell overwhelmed his nostrils as he inhaled deeply trying to catch his breath. He pushed himself away trying to escape the stench. He gasped at the fresh air and dropped to his knees his head falling into his hands.

_It's all your fault._

"No! No… He looked up at Paige who was still screaming at Spinner to get up and hugging his limp body tightly. Marco crawled over slowly and put his fingers to the boy's neck searching for a pulse. A sigh of relief spilled from his lips as he felt the faint thumping. He put his free hand on Paige steadying her. She had started to shake him even more violently in her hysteria and Marco feared she would break something.

"He's okay. He's gonna be okay." He didn't know this for sure, in fact a little voice in the back of his head was telling him he was lieing, but he needed to comfort Paige and this worked.

She looked up at him, her eyes were already red from the tears that were spilling from them and all her features were etched in worry. She loosened her grip on Spinner and sniffled before wrapping her arm around Marco's shoulders and pulling him into a hug. He put his hands on her back and patted it gently.

"He'll be okay." He released her and looked at Spinner who still lay motionless before them.

_It's all your fault._

Dylan came whipping back around the corner and a man wearing a Dot uniform followed on his heels.

"We found him here. Can we bring him inside or something?" Dylan pleaded with the man.

"Yeah sure. Grab his arms." He shifted Spinner so he had a good grip on his legs and Dylan put his arms under his armpits and lifted the boy up. They rushed as fast as they could to the restaurant and brought him inside.

"Step aside step aside!" The man shouted at people who had stopped to gawk at them. He helped slide Spinner onto a chair and went to get some towels and things to lie down. He returned shortly and Paige helped him set them down before they put him on the material.

Marco stood beside them awkwardly, watching them. He felt so helpless. There was nothing he could do that would make anything better.

_It's all your fault._

The soft sounds of sirens reached his ears, growing slowly louder until they were too much to take. He covered them with his hands and quickly stepped out of the way as the EMT's could get to Spinner. They bent over him and checked his pulse and his heartbeat. One of the men said something into his walkie talkie that Marco didn't catch and another man walked through the door with a stretcher.

Carefully they set him on it and hurriedly stepped out the door.

Dylan, Marco, and Paige followed them. They said nothing to each other or to anyone else. The stress was to powerful, and even if they could say anything their words would mean nothing.

Paige rode in the ambulance and Marco and Dylan followed behind in his car. Marco sighed and leaned forward pressing the palms of his hands onto his closed eyes.

_It's all your fault._

"Are you okay?" Dylan's voice rang through the silence.

Marco thought for a second before shaking his head. "No."

"Don't worry. Spinner will be okay." Dylan tried to reassure him.

"Yeah."

Dylan looked over at his boyfriend for a second before returning his gaze to the road. "There's more. I can tell something else is bothering you."

Marco was surprised that he was that easy to read. Then again he had gone through a lot today and wasn't focusing on his outward emotions.

"Please tell me." Dylan's tone was soft but held a slight firmness in it.

"It was Spinner. Not really him. Jay was driving. But he was there." Marco confessed.

"What? Driving?" Dylan furrowed his brow in confusion.

"He was in the car… The one that hit me." His voice was barely a whisper and it trembled slightly with the words.

Dylan looked over at the younger boy again. "HE was in the car?"

Marco nodded as he sat up and pressed into the seat.

"Are you sure?"

"He told me this morning. When we were in the nurses office."

Dylan revved up his engine in anger. He hated having to see Marco go through what he had. And now the situation was worse. Marco's face stiffened slightly at the sudden speed of the car. Dylan saw his shock and slowed down a bit, not letting his anger get the best of him. They said nothing else for the rest of the ride. Their own thoughts keeping them busy.

He pulled into the hospital and was directed to a lane where he parked quickly and ran into the hospital. Marco followed obediently. When they got inside they got a last glimpse of Spinner as he was pushed through a pair of swinging doors. A doctor was holding onto Paige trying to calm her down. Her eyes caught Dylan's and she swiftly escaped from the man grip and ran to him.

They embraced tightly and Marco stood beside them. He walked away quietly and sat in a chair on the far side of the room.

"Is he okay?" Paige questioned glancing over her shoulder and looking at the obviously distressed boy. Dylan explained what Marco had told him in the car and her eyes grew wide in shock.

Marco could hardly hear their voices since his own head was pounding. The fall earlier today and everything else that was going through his mind didn't help the matter either. He didn't know what to feel towards Spinner at the moment.

_I should be angry. Angry that he let Jay speed off and left me there for dead. But Spinner is my friend, and he is now lying in a hospital bed because of me. I shouldn't have been so angry. I mean he wasn't the one driving. But he was in the car and he didn't try to help me. He didn't even turn Jay in. But Jay is also his friend. Should he have chosen me over Jay? Maybe he's just confused. And I didn't help that when I yelled at him. He was apologizing. He was sorry. He…_

He continued the silent battle with himself and rubbed his hands over his head until they stopped on his neck. Dylan looked over at him before letting out a sigh.

"I don't know how he can handle this. It must be killing him." He looked down at Paige who was wiping her dripping mascara with the side of her index finger. "How about you? Are you okay?"

Paige shook her head. Marco had been one of her best friends since they met. But Spinner was her boyfriend. She loved him more than anything. But did she love him more than Marco? She wanted to hate Spinner for what he had done but she couldn't.

"I don't know what to think." She voiced her emotions to the only solid thing in her mind. Her brother.

He didn't know what to say to her so he kissed her softly on the forehead and pulled her into a warm comforting hug. She accepted the gesture gratefully wrapping her own arms around his torso. "Thank you."

Dylan nodded and released her slowly. He stepped around her but Paige followed closely behind. The two walked towards Marco and sat across from him.

They all waited in heavy silence. They were entertaining themselves with their own thoughts and conversation seemed more like a burden then a relief. Finally a man walked up to them after what seemed like forever. He was wearing a long white coat that looked out of place against his orangish skin and bright blue shirt that stuck out slightly in his sleeves and his collar. He was balding and only had a ring of hair around his scalp. On his face lay a pair of rimless glasses that he pulled up slightly as he raised the chart in his hand and coughed to get their attention.

The three teens looked up from their gazes on the floor in unison as they became aware of the man's presence.

"Are you three the ones who accompanied Mr. Mason?" They all nodded. "Are any of you related to him?"

"No." Paige stated plainly. "I'm his girlfriend. They are his friends." She said and motioned to the two boys with her head.

"I'm going to need to reach whoever his guardians are. We don't seem to have his phone number on record though." He flipped through the papers on his chart casually as if to emphasize the fact that he had searched for it with no avail.

Paige gave him the number through the soft sobs that had begun to overcome her again. The doctor thanked her and left them alone again.

"He could have at least told us how he was." Marco said with gritted teeth. "I hate not knowing anything." He leaned back and kicked the chair across from him sharply.

"Marco!" Dylan turned a concerned look on the brunette causing Marco to shy away, ashamed that he let his anger get the best of him. That's why they were all here in the first place.

"I'm sorry." He said to no one in particular. It was meant for both the siblings anyway.

"Don't be." Dylan grabbed his boyfriend's hand and rubbed it lightly with his thumb.

Marco smiled and looked over at Paige. Tears had begun to run down her cheeks once again. He put his free arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. He enjoyed the feeling of someone being close to him. It helped him to know that he wasn't alone in all of this. They all sat holding each other until there was a disturbance in the doorway. Marco turned his head to see who it was and turned back around quickly when he realized it was in fact Spinner's parents.

Paige turned around and got up once she had realized the same thing. They stood in the doorway looking slightly confused. His mother was the first to notice the approaching girl and ran towards her to pull her into a tight hug.

"Paige! Oh Paige, what happened?" Paige didn't know what to say since the doctors hadn't confided any information in them and to her relief the same man that talked to her earlier stepped up beside them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Mason?" He questioned. Mr. Mason stepped up and nodded.

"Can you come with me?" He turned slightly to tell them where he was going to head them. Mrs. Mason gave Paige one more squeeze before releasing her and following her husband down the hall through the double doors. Paige turned around and met the gaze of her brother who was watching her intently from his seat. His hand was still clasped in Marco's and he looked back at the young boy.

"I don't know how to face them." Marco whispered quietly. "If I wouldn't have been so angry…"

"You think this is your fault?" Dylan's questioned was returned with nothing. Marco looked away from his hands and out the window. "Its not."

Marco still didn't answer him and his brow furrowed in concern. "Marco?" He said softly.

"Nothing makes sense anymore. I don't know how to deal with any of this." He sighed and looked back down at his hands.

"It will be okay Marco. Everything's going to turn out fine." He tried to reassure his boyfriend but failed.

"How do you know? Everything is already messed up. Everything." He stood up from his seat and walked towards the door. Dylan got up after him and clasped a firm hand on his shoulder forcing him to stop in his tracks.

Tears swelled up in the younger boy's eyes and he fought them back enough to stop them from spilling onto his cheeks. "Let me go."

"Marco?"

"Dylan please." He didn't turn around to see the pleading look in the blonde's eyes. If he had all the restraint against his tears he had fought to keep would have been lost. "I can't be here right now." When Dylan's grip didn't loosen he shrugged out of his grasp and continued to the door.

Dylan stood there for a moment shocked by the boy's sudden movements. He looked back at Paige who gave him an encouraging nod before turning back around and following the brunette out the doors.

He looked around wildly trying to find what direction he had walked in when he saw the shape of a boy storming away angrily. He ran towards the figure and grabbed his shoulder once again. Marco turned on his heels and found himself staring straight into his boyfriend's eyes.

"Marco. Don't do this. You can't run away from your problems." Marco turned away once again.

"Watch me." With that he was off. He ran out of the parking lot across the street. He didn't know where he was going but he knew he couldn't stand being here much longer. Dylan followed him and caught up to him quickly.

"Marco! Marco please stop!" He yelled over the sounds of traffic. Marco slowed and fell to his knees in the soft grass. Dylan rushed to his side and wrapped his arms around him tightly. He grasped the blonde even tighter afraid to let go. Sobs racked his body violently and he cried loudly into Dylan's shoulder.

"Shhh, Its okay Marco. I'm here. I'm here." He pulled Marco's face away from him so he could see it clearly before wiping the tears away with his thumbs. "I'm here."

"I don't know what to do. I don't know anything right now. I just don't know." He fell into Dylan's chest and hung on to his shirt with clenched fists.

Dylan knew there was nothing he could say to make Marco feel any better so he just let him wallow in his presence.

After a few moments of silence Marco finally spoke up. "I'm scared."

Dylan's face turned quizzical. "You're scared? Of what?" Marco lifted his head to the confused face of his boyfriend.

"The future. And whatever is going to happen to me in it." He tilted his head and sighed. "So many things that need to happen but I don't know how they will. My parents, Jay, Spinner. I can't even begin to comprehend what's in store."

"That makes two of us." He put one hand under Marco's chin and kissed him gently on the lips. "But whatever happens, I just want you to know that I'll be there for you. Even if the rest of the world isn't."

"Oh great, now I have to worry about the rest of the world too?" Marco smiled at Dylan who chuckled softly. He was glad to see happiness return to his face.

"What do you want to do now?" The blonde asked, not wanting to push Marco somewhere he didn't want to go.

"If you don't mind, I want to go home."

"As in…"

"As in my house. You're right. I can't just run away from my problems. I think its time I face this one head on." Dylan nodded in agreement and the couple got up from their seat and walked back to the hospital. They went inside and told Paige where they were going.

"Are you sure, I mean…" She questioned, concern edging into her voice.

"I'm sure. If you get a chance to see Spinner tell him I'm okay." Paige nodded and Dylan led Marco back to where their car was parked. Soon enough they were off to Marco's house, neither of them sure of what they would find.

* * *

**Yay finally finished with that chapter. That was a bit of a challenge to write but hopefully it will be worth it. Roll in the reviews!**


	8. Bottom of the Bottle

**I'm sorry for not explaining this before but Dylan does in fact live in a dorm but he still does have a room at his house.. WHen he stays there after Marco goes in the hospital it is because he didn't want to drive all the way to his dorm. When Marco stays over at his house he stays there to because 1. Marco couldn't stay in his dorm and 2. he wanted to be with Marco. Also since he is in a dorm that means he goes to college. When he picked Marco up from the nurses office he was also picking up Paige and he just went and got him instead. Hope I cleared that up for anybody who might have been confused!**

* * *

The two boys stood in front of the old house just staring at it as if it was going to get up and leave at any moment. Marco shoved his hands into his pockets and sighed deeply. He wasn't afraid of the house itself for it was a place of comfort for him and he had some of his best memories there. It was what was waiting inside that made him want to huddle up in a corner and hide. There were no monsters or ghosts, just an old fashioned Italian couple who were just as confused as their son who they didn't know was standing right outside. 

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Dylan asked his boyfriend after standing in the driveway next to him for a few long moments. "We could always just-"

"No. I came here for a reason and I'm not going to leave until I know what that reason is." Marco took a few more steps towards his front door but stopped before he climbed up the steps. "Dylan," He whispered to the boy who had followed him up to his house. "I think I should do this alone. I'm sorry but…"

"It's okay. I understand." He wrapped his arms around Marco's smaller figure and hugged him tightly. "I'll be waiting in the car. If anything bad happens just come to me." He let go of Marco and smiled reassuringly before walking back to the car and hopping inside.

Marco turned back towards the door that seemed to loom over him condescendingly but he climbed up the steps anyway. He folded up his hand in a fist and prepared to knock on it but the fear of it being shut back in his face stopped him. Instead he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a tiny silver key. A house key. HIS house key. He slipped it into the doorknob and turned it until it made a soft click and he pushed it open. He was overwhelmed with the light atmosphere and the sweet smells that flowed through his senses as he stepped inside and took it all in. He had no choice now; this had to happen at this moment.

His steps felt loud but he couldn't hear them over his heart which was thumping in his ears. It raced as he closed the door behind him and everything felt as if it was in slow motion when he turned into his dining room and found the faces of his parents staring back at him. He froze in mid-step and almost didn't resist the urge to run back out the door. He looked at his mom then at his dad. He didn't see the face he expected which in his mind would be just full of anger and fury as the night he had been thrown out. But instead wore an expression of surprise, confusion, and maybe even a bit of… happiness?

"Ma," He stuttered with welled up emotion that was caught in a lump in his trough. "Pa?" His eyes were sowing how much he longed to run into his mother's arms but he stopped himself and waited for their first move.

"Marco?" Mrs. Del Rossi asked as if she would wake up and this would be some dream. She got up from her seat before rushing to her son and pulling him into a warm embrace. He put his head on her shoulder and he felt the silent sobs escaping her.

"I'm sorry Ma. I'm so sorry." He whispered hoarsely into her ear. She let go of him slightly and turned to face her husband who was still in the same position he had been in before. Not wanting to meet her gaze he dropped it down to the floor in shame.

What had he done? He kicked his only son out of his house which tore his wife's heart and soul out with him He had heard her cry every night since the whole incident in the hospital. But he still didn't know what to do. His whole proud family line would probably end here with Marco, because for some reason that he couldn't begin to fathom why he liked boys. His son was a fag and he hated to have to admit it. But he still loved him and was scared that he had lost him forever.

"Pa, please…" His son's soft voice floated to his ears and he looked up into his teary eyes. "I didn't mean to let you down, but I can't stop being who I am. Please understand…"

"That is not who you are. You're just confused. Stop talking like your some…"

"Some what? What Pa? I'm not confused about anything. I know what I am. I'm gay!" Tears poured down his cheeks as he finally let all of his emotion out onto his father.

"You are not gay. Stop saying that!" He roared standing up from his seat. He said gay like he said "trash" with the same hints of disgust in his voice.

"Yes I am. This is who I am and you need to accept that! Please Pa… I need you to accept me. Please…" His eyes pleaded with his father even more then his words seem to.

"Marco, why are you doing this? Is it something you're mad at me for?"

"I'm not mad at you and I'm not doing this in spite. I didn't choose to be gay. But that doesn't mean I'm going to hide it forever." His hands were facing palm up and he emphasized every word with the motions. "Pa…"

Without saying a word Mr. Del Rossi turned away from his son and stepped a few paces resting his hand on the table. "How can you expect me to accept this? My son is saying he likes boys and he wants me to accept it. You will stop talking about such nonsense."

Before Marco had a chance to respond he left the room and a deathly quiet house in his wake.

"It will be all right Marco. He just needs time." His mother placed his hand on his shoulder and made him turn towards her.

"I've already given him so much time. He won't even listen to me." His bottom lip quivered and he dropped his head to his chest. "But I'm still coming back. I need my bed." He looked back up at his mother and plastered a smile onto his lips. "Thank you."

He walked back out the door and to Dylan's car.

"Is everything all right? Are you okay?" He started up immediately and jumped out of the car.

"Yes and no. He still won't listen to me but I am going to stay at home. Thank you for everything Dylan." He stood up on his tip-toes and kissed his boyfriend gently on the cheek. Dylan smiled at him happily and grabbed Marco's bag which they had picked up on the way here.

"Remember, if anything happens I'll be there for you. Just call me." He hugged Marco one last time before handing him his bag and getting back in his car. Marco watched him drive away and didn't go back to his house until it was out of is line of sight.

"Marco, eat something. You look too skinny." His mother chided as he shut the front door behind him. "I still have some lasagna left."

Marco was hungry but he was too worried to eat anything even though it would do him good. "That's ok Ma. I'm just going to go to bed. It's been an exhausting day." He continued to his room and flopped down on his bed. His sheets smelled like he had remembered and before he could even get under them he had fallen asleep.

* * *

Marco walked to the dining room and stopped when he met the gaze of his father who quickly looked away. He continued to his normal seat and his mother scooped some oatmeal into his bowl. His gaze stayed on his dad who refused to look at him. 

"Pa…" Still no response. He was trying to keep his emotions under control but this wasn't making it any easier. "Pa!" He said a little louder and he finally looked up. "Are we going to talk about this?"

"Talk about what?" Mr. Del Rossi shoved a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth so he didn't have to talk anymore.

"That I'm gay. I don't mean to be so blunt but I need you to understand."

"I have no son that is gay…"

"Yes you do. And all he wants to do is make you happy."

"Happy? If you wanted to make me happy you would stop with this _gay _stuff"

"I can't just stop it. If I could then I would." His dad returned to look at his bowl of oatmeal and Marco let out an angry sigh. "Fine. I need to get to school."

Marco stormed from the dining room and they heard the door slam as he proceeded outside. Marco walked briskly towards the school and was almost in tears by the time he got there. How could his dad still be pretending this would all go away? He made his way to the bathroom not even caring to stop by his locker. When he got there he locked himself in a stall and sat on the toilet, cupping his head in his hands. He heard the sound of the school bell faintly and realized he was going to be late for class, but for some reason he didn't care.

He didn't want to care. That's why all of this happened. Because he cared too much. He cared about what his father thought of him so he was sitting in a bathroom worried as hell about it. He cared that Spinner had left him for dead so now Gavin was the one in a hospital because of him. He cared that his dad had thrown him out so he tried to go make it right but failed miserably. That was all he had to do. Stop caring all together.

Marco unfolded himself from the toilet and walked out of the stall with his bag. He continued out the front doors of the school and didn't stop for anything. He didn't know where he was going but it didn't matter because he didn't care. He walked down a street that led to downtown with his hands in his pockets and his eyes searching for anyplace that could take the rest of his cares away.

That's exactly what he needed. Something to take his cares away. His gaze drifted to The Furnace Yard Bar and he stepped up to its doorway hastily. Alcohol could take his cares away. He stepped inside and was shot strange looks from customers as he made his way to a bar stool and sat down. "Hey you." He motioned to the bartender behind the counter. "Can I get a beer?"

"Nice try kid. Come back when you're legal." The bartender walked away from Marco and continued his earlier conversation. Marco huffed lightly and turned his seat around to face the rest of the bar. He didn't pay attention to anyone in particular except for this one woman who kept looking at him. She seemed very familiar but he couldn't place where they had met. After a while she got up and made her way through the bustling crowd towards Marco and sat down next to him.

"You don't really look like the type of guy who tries to drink underage." She said smiling at him wildly.

"I never have before. I just care way too much and I need to stop. This seemed like good way to accomplish it." He looked over at her and took in her slender form. A slight shock hit him when he remembered exactly where he had seen her from. She was the nurse in the hospital who had helped him with his father. "Maria?"

"So you do recognize me. How has everything been going?" She was sincerely concerned and was sad to see a frown spread across Marco's lips.

"I went back to my house. My dad thinks I'm doing this to spite him. He won't accept me at all." He looked away from her across the other end of the bar. "Doesn't matter though. I don't care."

"I think you do. That's why you seem to think booze will take that away. It might, for a while. But it all comes back when you're sober again." Marco turned back to her searching her face for insincerity but he found none.

"Then I'll just have to stay drunk. If I could get my hands on anything that is…" He sighed deeply. His idea seemed to make sense. To himself anyway.

"Marco, don't do this. You're a good kid. This will just mess things up even more." She put her hand on his shoulder and cocked her head to one side.

"I don't care. If it got any worse it would be a small miracle. I don't care." He looked over at the bartender once more before standing up. "If I can't get my buzz here I'll just have to find another way."

He walked outside before Maria had a chance to stop him but she followed him out the door anyways. "Marco I don't want to see you hurt."

"You can't stop me." He said to her as she jogged up beside him.

"I know I can't. But if this is your choice I can at least come along." She smiled at him and he put his arm around her shoulder.

"That, I think, will work out just fine my friend." They stopped at the nearest liquor store and Marco waited outside as Maria bought a 6-pack of beer for them.

"Let me pay you back." He pleaded.

"Naw, think of it as a gift. Over here." She pulled him towards the doors of an apartment complex that must have been at least five stories tall.

"You live here?" He asked as he followed her into the doors and looked around.

"Yeah. And Luckily I'm on the first floor so no stairs for us." She walked him over to room 29 and unlocked the door with her overly stuffed ring of keys. Marco followed her inside and was in awe at how much purple was in the room. The curtains, the bedspread, the rugs, and she had even painted the tables and chairs with the violet shade.

"Its so…"

"Purple? I know. I wanted something different." She sat down on the bed and motioned for him to sit down next to her, which he did quickly.

"Well it is different." Marco replied as she pulled out two beers from the case and handed one to Marco.

"Then my mission is complete. Want anything to eat?" She popped open the cap of her beer and took a long sip.

"Naw, I'm good." Marco opened his and took a drink in a similar manner. He tried to stop his face from contorting with disgust as the foul liquid entered his mouth but failed so he turned away from her instead. He lay back in on the bed with his feet still dangling over the side and looked up at her ceiling. It was, to no surprise, painted a bright shade of purple.

"What's on your mind?" Maria asked taking another big swig of beer.

"A lot of crap. Too much crap. It's like ever since that car hit me the rest of my life turned into a car crash." He looked up at her and shifted to his elbow so he could take another drink.

"Not just your parents?" She leaned on her opposite elbow so she was eye level with him.

"Not my parents, just my dad. My mom is fine with me being gay. But you already know that whole story." Maria looked at him curiously searching for more information with her eyes. "It just so happens the guy that hit me is a friend of a friend. He was drunk. I don't really care too much about him though. But my friend was in the car. Spinner. He told me after we crashed into each other in the hall at my school. Then I guess he ran out of school and I don't know what happened next but he's in the hospital right now. Because I had to go and yell at him and am a stupid jerk." He chugged down the rest of the bottle and sighed in delight. It was actually pretty good once you got used to it and if you didn't keep it in your mouth for long.

"Wow," Maria uttered. "That's ruff. Do you really think getting drunks gonna help all this? Or is it going to just make it worse." She looked into his chocolaty brown eyes and thought she saw a flash of hurt go through them but it was gone before she could be sure.

Marco thought for a moment about what he was doing but then remembered why he thought of it in the first place. He needed to stop caring. "I don't care." He mumbled half heartedly before sitting up and grabbing another beer from the case.

Maria didn't believe him but she wasn't the one to stop him. She knew how it felt to feel that your problems would disappear at the bottom of a bottle or two and she also knew that nothing but a hard lesson would change that. Life was stubborn and needed to take its own course, she was just riding along.

"Do you like working at a hospital?" She was pulled out of her thoughts when Marco's voice came through the almost silent room.

"It's pretty cool. It can be boring just being a nurse but sometimes you see the strangest things." She laughed lightly thinking of some of the nutcases she had taken care of, or at least tried to. "I remember there was this one woman. Total whacko, had delusions, thought people with, quote, fire heads. The look on her face when I walked through the door…" Maria shook her head lightly and Marco let out a small chuckle. "Yeah it was funny, until she started yelling murderer at the top of her lungs and attacked me. Luckily when she jumped of the bed it ripped out her heart monitor."

"Luckily?" Marco questioned.

"Well for me at least. The flat line attracted the doctors and they got her before she could do any real damage. The woman was like three hundred pounds and she jumped on top of so I was pinned between her and the hard floor." Marco tried to contain his laughter but wasn't very successful, especially since the alcohol was starting to take affect.

"Shut up car crash." She jested pushing his shoulder playfully.

"Fire head." He threw back at her and she smacked his cheek lightly but still managed to topple him over onto the floor.

"That's it, I'm cutting you off." She joked and pulled the rest of the beers behind her.

"Fire… Head!" He managed to choke out as he regained his breath and threw his arms on the bed. "I am never going to let you live that one down."

"Oh you're nasty." She smiled wide but jumped suddenly when a loud noise erupted from her pocket. She slid her hand inside and retrieved a cell phone which she flipped open and began talking into.

"Hello?... Oh hi… Not really… Seriously?... Right now… yeah I guess but… fine… I'll be there." She snapped her phone shut and looked sadly at Marco. "I gotta go. Emergency at work. You're welcome to stay here if you want. Or you can go whatever." She grabbed a badge from a hook on her purple wall and put it around her neck. Marco got up from the floor and was about to follow her out the door when she stopped him.

"Take the beer. You need it more than I do." Marco nodded and turned on his heels before grabbing the case of now 3 1/2 beers and returning to her side.

"Thanks." She nodded her welcome and they walked out of the building and parted ways.

"Where to go now…" He said quietly to himself and looked around. His wondering gaze stopped on a street sign of a crossing street nearby. It seemed familiar. He felt he had seen it before but couldn't place when. Without another thought he turned towards the street and followed its old sidewalk for about a half an hour be fore he got a revelation. Suddenly his mind was flooded with the memory of this street. He had been walking towards Dylan's university and hadn't even realized it. He thought about turning back but instead continued on his way hoping he would find comfort there. Another 10 minutes passed and he found himself winding through hallways and building trying to remember where his boyfriend resided. He plopped down on a bench and grabbed a beer from the case he carried. He was going to find Dylan but there was no sense in getting parched in the mean time. He flipped of the cap and took a drink before letting out a relieved sigh. He took a few more sips before setting the bottle back in the case and returning to his navigation of the campus maze. After another few minutes of searching he found the building he was looking for and let himself in. He climbed the stairs and searched his head for his dorm number.

"Damn." He cursed to himself when his mind refused to respond to his drastic search. He racked his brain to find the information but everything just seemed foggy. He looked around at the doors hoping for some clue that one of them belonged to Dylan. On a door just in front of him hung a miniature white board. Scribbled in sloppy writing were the words "Dylan's pad." Marco smiled to himself at his accomplishment of finding the room and he knocked on the door.

It opened with a squeak and Dylan's head popped out from behind it. "Marco? What are you doing here? Is school already over?" His brow furrowed with confusion as Marco pushed himself into the room and plopped on his bed.

"Nope. I don't really know what I'm doing here. I was just walking and this is where I ended up. Aren't you happy to see me?" Marco stuck his lower lip out as he feigned sadness and batted hi eyelashes.

"Of coarse I'm happy to see you… Why aren't you in school? Is everything ok?" His gave Marco a once over but his eyes stopped on the half empty case of beer still clutched in his boyfriends hand.

"Have you been drinking?" He asked in disbelief as the brunette rolled his head to the side and then tipped it back.

Marco rolled his head to the opposite shoulder and looked at Dylan. "Maybe…"

"Marco, give me the case." Dylan said sternly.

"Don't worry, I saved you some." He took the half empty one out of the case and tossed the other two to his boyfriend who caught them just before they crashed to the ground.

"Marco! What the hell were you thinking?" Dylan almost screamed before making his way to the bathroom and dumping the beers out in the sink.

"Why are you wasting those! They're still good!" Marco followed Dylan into the bathroom and tried to shove past him to save the booze. Dylan grabbed his arms tightly and made him look at his face.

"How much did you drink?" Marco looked away and opened his mouth like he was going to say something but quickly closed it. He stuck on finger to the side of his chin and thought about it.

"Like two… and a half… Why do you care so much? You really needed those more than the sink did." Marco laughed at his own joke and fell to his knees. Dylan pulled him back up and carried him to the bed.

Marco pulled their faces close together and attempted to kiss him but Dylan jerked away. Marco frowned sadly at his boyfriend who only shook his head.

"What? Don't you _hiccup_ love me anymore?" Dylan looked at him and sighed before sitting next to him on the bed.

"Marco you're drunk. Get some rest."

"I don't care if I'm drunk! I don't care about anything! That's what being drunk is all about right?" He flopped down with his head resting on the pillows. Tears started to form in his eyes but he was too weary to fight them.

Dylan crawled next to him and put his hand on the younger boy's shoulder. He hated to see Marco like this; the poor boy was so overwhelmed with everything and thought the only way out was to lose himself along with his sobriety. He would have tried to talk sense into him but he knew in this state it would be a lot of effort for no reward.

"Marco," He started trying his best to make his tone sound comforting and warm. "You look tired. Just get some sleep. I promise I'll wake you up in a few hours."

Marco nodded and it brought a smile to Dylan's face. He kissed the Italian boy on the forehead before getting up and sitting in his desk. He began to work on whatever he had been doing before and Marco fell asleep easily in a matter of minutes.

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**I am sooooooo soory about the super late update. I have been really busy with this essay thingy I had to right and I absolutely had no time. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and remember to review!**


	9. Never Again

**EEEEEK! New chappy! Short and sweet and mostly just a lead to the next bit of drama. ENJOY!**

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Dylan patted his boyfriend on the back sympathetically and would have held his hair back too, if it was still there. Marco gasped for breath as he came up from the toilet and the stench of his vomit began to fill the tiny room. Dylan tried to breath through his nose so the smell didn't bother him and he continued to rub Marco's back.

"You okay?" He asked sympathetically and his usually dancing eyes were sad and filled with disappointment. Marco nodded slightly, fearing that any movement would set of his uneasy stomach once again. He released his tight grasp on the sides of the toilet and flushed it before leaning against the opposite wall and looking up at the blond mass of curls before him.

"Can you tell me what the hell I was thinking?" He grumbled and wrapped his arms around his torso. How anyone found this enjoyable was a mystery to him. Why he thought this would be enjoyable was a mystery to him. What an idiot he was for being so caught up in his emotions he didn't even think straight enough to see what he was doing.

Dylan shook his head and shrugged with an apologetic half smile. "I don't know. But promise me you'll never do it again."

"Don't worry," Marco replied and glanced at the toilet. "I won't."

"Why were you drunk in the first place?" Marco looked down at his hands as the question he dreaded fell from his boyfriend's lips.

"I couldn't take it anymore. There's just too much shit going on right now that I didn't want to deal with." He started to fiddle with the lining of his shirt nervously.

"And you thought getting drunk out of your mind and passing out in my dorm would help you?" Dylan slightly raised his voice but was able to keep himself from sounding as angry as he really was. "This is so unlike you."

"I thought it would! I don't know what to think anymore…" He looked up into the deep blue eyes owned by Dylan and forced the tears on the edges of his eyes to disperse. "I need help Dylan."

"And I'm here to help you, but not if your drunk. I don't want to see you hurt again Marco, and when you do stupid things like this your just hurting yourself."

"I know, I know. I figured that out after my stomach decided it doesn't like food anymore. Or apparently booze either."

Dylan put is hand softly on Marco's cheek and massaged it with his thumb. "Just know that I will _always_ be there for you. But that doesn't mean I'll enjoy replaying this scene again."

Marco just smiled wryly and nodded, showing Dylan that he understood. "Good. Now how about we get some breakfast?" Marco just looked at him strangely.

"Breakfast?"

"Yeah it's like 8 o clock in the morning…"

"WHAT? You mean I stayed here the whole night?" Dylan nodded. "Oh god, I gotta get home." He tried to stand up but another wave of nausea sent him crashing back down. Dylan flung himself towards the boy and caught him before his body collided with the hard floor of the bathroom.

"Not in this condition your not. You have a hangover the size of Ontario; your parents aren't that blind." He pushed himself up off his knees and pulled Marco up with him before helping him back onto the bed.

"Dylan, what am I going to tell them? I finally come back home and then I stay at, out of all places, your dorm." He dropped his head into his hands and groaned. "Why do I always have to screw everything up?"

"You didn't screw everything up. You just made a mistake, your human and that's what they tend to do." Dylan kissed him softly on the forehead and walked back towards the bathroom. "I know I have an extra toothbrush here somewhere… AHAH!" He came from the room holding a toothbrush in his hand and a very proud look on his face.

Marco looked up at the sudden outburst and couldn't help but smile at the huge grin spread across his boyfriends face. He got up from the bed slowly and took the brush from Dylan's hand before proceeding to the bathroom to clean his teeth with it.

"Ahhhh…" Marco let out as he finished rinsing his mouth and a new fresh minty taste lingered inside it. He smiled into the mirror and checked himself out quickly before returning to the bedroom. He was thrown against the wall by a sudden onslaught of clothes. He grabbed blindly at them and tore them off his face. "What the hell?"

"You need clothes right? Well there you go." Dylan stated in a matter-of-factly kind of voice.

"And you want to kill me with them first?" Dylan just laughed and Marco rolled his eyes before rising up off the wall. He slipped off his shirt and was about to throw it on the bed before realizing Dylan was staring at him. "What?"

Dylan's cheeks turned a deep shade of red and he looked away. "Nothing…"

Marco chuckled and threw his shirt at the blonde. "Perv." He joked causing Dylan's cheeks to brighten even more. He walked over to him and wrapped his arms around the taller boy's waist before twisting him around so they were face to face. He stood on his toes and kissed his boyfriend lightly on the side of his mouth. "You know I don't mind." He whispered in a soft voice that could've melted a heart of stone, and Dylan's was anything but so it was a miracle his knees didn't buckle to the words.

Marco laughed softly and released Dylan out of his grip before taking a few steps towards the bed. Suddenly he was spun around by two strong hands and his lips were locked into a passionate kiss. Before he could respond Dylan pulled away and gave him a nervous smile. "Sorry" He muttered and seemed to blush even more, if that was possible at this point.

Marco smiled a huge toothy grin and giggled. He knew Dylan couldn't resist him and was worried he had lost his touch when he was actually able to walk away. In truth Dylan had tried to contain himself but Marco was just too alluring for it to be more than an attempt.

"Oh you're sly Del Rossi, real sly." He said as Marco came up behind him and ran his hands under the front of his shirt.

"Yeah, but its fun that way." He replied and laid his head on Dylan's back while he massaged the boy's chest with the tips of his fingers. He felt Dylan's body shake with silent laughs and was reluctant to let go of the comfort he felt when he was next to him. Slowly he slipped his hands back from under the shirt and continued his previous path towards the bed. Once again he was stopped by two strong arms but this time he was tossed gently onto the bed.

He looked up into the silvery blue pool-like eyes of his boyfriend and he was pinned to the bed by his wrists. "Didn't think you'd get rid of me that easy did you?" Dylan smiled mischievously and leaned in towards the Italian, pressing their lips together. Marco groaned lightly as Dylan made his way down the boy's neck and sucked it teasingly. He wrapped his legs around the older boy's waist and pulled him closer until he was practically lying on top of him. Dylan moved from his neck back to his lips and licked them playfully before moving to Marco's neck and shoulders once again. He felt the boys blonde curls fall neatly onto his cheek and smelled the strong scent of his generic shampoo. It might not have been the greatest scent in the world but at this moment he loved it more than anybody else possibly could imagine.

"Dylan." He whispered slightly out of breath. "Dylan, wait." He kept on kissing Marco.

"Dylan please wait." He still went unheard and started to struggle away from Dylan's grip. Finally the kissing ceased and Marco was given a confused look.

"What's wrong? Did I do something?" Dylan slid his hands from Marco's wrists and sat up beside him.

"No it's just, not right now okay?" He sighed deeply hoping he hadn't hurt Dylan too much.

"Whatever you want Marco. I understand." He smiled and stretched his neck so he was looking into the boys face.

"Why are our moments like this always ruined? First Paige, now me…"

"Don't you even feel bad about this." Dylan commanded. "You're going through some things that you really don't deserve to be going through. I'm not mad. Maybe a little disappointed but hey, look at how cute you are. Anybody else would feel the same."

Marco grinned lightly and set his head atop his boyfriends shoulder. "How is it you can always make me smile?"

"Because you're worth it, And of coarse because I'm so irresistible." Marco pushed him playfully and he chuckled with happiness. He kissed Dylan on his cheek before getting up and finally was ale to get dressed without interruptions. Except for the loud whistle Dylan sang out when Marco change his pants.

No matter how much of a hurry he was in Marco would always make time to fix his hair in the bathroom, even if it was hardly there. He strode into the bright light and for the first time realized how horrible he looked. Well to himself anyway. To anybody else he would have been fine for he was normally so good looking people he passed on the street would stop and stare. He didn't mind that but Dylan sure did.

He tried to force the baggy clothes he was wearing to stay in place but they were much too large for it to do any good. He gasped in surprise when he adjusted it enough to reveal his whole neck and then some.

"Dylan!" He screamed, sounding more panicked then he meant to.

Dylan ran to the doorway and grabbed the edges of the wall. "What? What happened?" He gave Marco the once-over and he didn't seem to be hurt.

Marco turned to face him and pulled down the collar of the shirt a little more, exposing the reason for his distress. Dylan couldn't help but laugh but sobered instantly when Marco threw him an icy glare. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Ugggh! How am I gonna hide these?" He said and pointed angrily towards one of the many hickeys covering his neck. He turned to the mirror once again and realized that not only were they on his lower neck but they were in fact starting to form near the top.

"Dylan! You need to be more careful about that!" He complained and sighed in exasperation. "Do you have a scarf or something?"

"Uh yeah, hang on." He walked out of the doorway and returned with a blue and white striped scarf that had a Toronto Maple Leafs logo on each end. It was anything but Marco's usual style but he was desperate and his anger was beginning to rise.

"Come on, let's go." He said as he threw the scarf around his neck and pushed pass Dylan towards the door. Dylan obliged and grabbed his car keys before following Marco as he rapidly pushed through the halls.

"Marco, slow down!" He yelled to the boy who turned around in an annoyed huff. Dylan caught up to him and hardly had time to catch his breath before Marco insisted they continue towards his car.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" He asked taking long slow strides to catch up to the raging ball of Marco, now jogging through the parking lot. Suddenly he stopped in mid step almost causing the both of them to tumble to the ground.

"I… I don't know." He confessed and seemed to be just as confused as Dylan. "I don't even know what I'm going to say."

"Well let's think about that in the car. I don't need any more car accidents." Marco looked around and realized that in fact he was in the middle of the road. Dylan grabbed his hand gently and interlaced their fingers before pulling him towards the car. They climbed in and sat there for a moment in silence before any of them said a word. But that was what they needed. Just a little time to think.

"So…" Dylan broke the silence cautiously. "Any ideas?"

"Tell the truth. It'll get me grounded till I'm 30 but I don't want to lie anymore. There has been way too much of that already." He nodded, silently agreeing and trying to convince himself that this was the right way to go along with it.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now go before I change my mind." Dylan didn't need to be told twice. He turned the car on and back up out of his spot hastily and began to drive towards Marco's house.

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**Horrible ending I know, but I wanted to get it up for you guys. Remember to review. Reviewshappiness & happiness inspiration & inspirationNew chapters faster!**


	10. Revelations and Forgiveness

**HOLY COW! Everyone take advice from luvluv on your reviews. That last one was amazing! I felt so good reading it. I LOVED it!.**

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It was so disappointing  
That all my trust was built on sand  
It was against all reason  
Although it happened again and again  
Eye to eye the innocence died  
Forgive but don't forget  
Never fail twice  
Forgive but don't forget  
Straight through the lies  
Your speech was full of treason  
Although your heart was innocent  
I had to pay for your sins

-_Rage_

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His light footsteps felt loud and huge as he took the first few steps into his house. The old wooden floor creaked under his feet and every breath he took raised his anxiety. He furled and unfurled his hands and noticed how clammy they had become in the last few seconds. Another step sent the floor into another short wailing fit as he paused on top of it and shut his eyes tightly. 

"Ma… Pa…" He called out, fighting against a lump that was forming in his throat.

"Marco?" He heard the hurried footsteps of his mother as she walked into the kitchen. She stopped before him and put her hand over her mouth in happiness and surprise. "Marco…" She ran to him as fast as her legs would allow and wrapped her arms around his slender figure, squeezing him tightly. Silent sobs raked there body's together and Marco threw his hands to his mothers back, unwilling to let go.

"I'm sorry," He gasped and tears rolled down his cheeks, staining Dylan's scarf and Ms. Del Rossi's dress. "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me Ma, I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry."

"Sh sh sh sh, its okay, it's okay." She pulled his head away from her shoulder and looked him in the eye before pushing him into a chair at the table. She slid another one close so it was facing him directly and took a seat. Before she said anything she took his hands in her own and held them tightly, as if to tell him that she was there for him.

"Where were you Marco? We looked everywhere. Your Papa didn't even go to work today. He's looking for you now." Marco's eyes grew wide and seemed to sparkle even more than the tears could make them.

"Pa, was looking for me?" He asked in slight disbelief. He had almost expected him not to care, until just now, he didn't think he had.

"Marco, he loves you. He may not show it, and he may not fully accept who you are but he still loves you. When you were gone he couldn't sleep. He was too worried about you." Tears dripped over her eyelids and she wiped them away with her wrist, but quickly returned it to her son's grasp. "Where were you?"

"I… I can't remember most of it. I got…" He swallowed against the lump in his throat. _Tell the truth, tell the truth. _"Drunk." He looked away in shame, finally realizing all the stupidity in his decision. "I didn't know what to do. Anything seemed good at the time."

Ms. Del Rossi put a hand on his shoulder not sure of what to say. She couldn't believe her ears. Her son, drunk? Nothing like this had ever happened and she was never really prepared for the situation. But now it was coming at her full force and there was nothing she could do but what she thought best.

"Please don't tell Pa. He's already so disappointed with me…" He pleaded.

"I won't. But I don't ever want to hear that you did this again. You're grounded… for a month." She shook her head lightly. "What were you thinking Marco? You're lucky you weren't hurt, or worse. How you managed that…"

"Dylan. I found Dylan and he helped me Ma. He let me stay with him till… till I was better." He hoped his mother would understand that it was in his best interest to stay there, and not be mad he spent the night at his boyfriends.

"He is a good boy. I'm glad you have him Marco. Is he here now?" Marco nodded and chanced a glance back at his mother. A smile had taken over her face for she was genuinely happy for her son.

"He's in his car. He wanted to wait to make sure everything was ok before he left." Ms. Del Rossi leaned towards her son and squeezed him once again.

"Well everything is okay." She reassured, and for the first time in weeks he felt everything actually was. "Tell him I said thank you, for keeping you safe." She kissed him on the cheek and let him walk back out the door. Knowing this time he would be back for good.

He didn't bother to close the door behind him he just ran towards Dylan who was leaning against the hood of his car with his arms crossed. "Dylan!" He yelled, quickening his pace. The blonde looked up and seeing the smile on Marco's face another came onto his own. Marco grabbed his boyfriend's hands and held them up to his chest.

"I'm guessing it went well." He laughed.

"Better than expected. My mom says thank you, for keeping me safe and all." Marco blushed slightly and Dylan kissed him on the forehead.

"Then I should go. I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Yeah." He let go of Dylan's hands and with one last glance left him in the driveway. He was met at the door by his mom who wrapped her arm around his shoulder.

"So," she said slyly. "What are we going to tell your Pa?"

"I'm not going to lie to him but I don't exactly want to tell him the truth either…" he trailed off unintentionally.

"I'll take care of him. You look terrible though. Get some rest." She smiled at him warmly but quickly wiped it off her face remembering that she was supposed to be angry with him. Marco nodded and went up to his room eager for the silence of his own thoughts.

* * *

"Honey, keep your voice down. You'll wake him." Ms. Del Rossi pleaded with her husband after his surprising outburst. She had just broken the news that their son was home and he chose to repeat it at the top of his lungs in shock. 

"Where was he? What was he doing? What happened?" He asked rapidly, trying to extract as much information from her as he could.

"That doesn't matter dear. All that matters is that he is home, safe in his bed." She smiled encouragingly but was only given a frown in return.

"Did he leave because of me… again?" He choked out calmly.

Ms. Del Rossi didn't answer she just looked away and pretended she hadn't heard him. Even though he knew full well that she had.

"I am a hypocrite." He whispered to no one in particular. "I tell him that he is ruining our family but look what I have done. I caused our only son to run away, after he came back." He rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands and took a few steps past his wife. "What have I done?"

"You didn't make him feel like he mattered. He was surprised when I told him that you were looking for him. You may not agree with who he is but you can at least try not to act like it's the end of the world as we know it." She sighed heavily and turned around, facing his back. "He just wants to know that you are proud of him. Maybe not for this decision, but think of all the other things and maybe this one won't seem as horrible as you are making it out to be." She patted him on the back and walked into the kitchen where she began to cook dinner.

"He is sleeping?" He asked for only the sake of not wanting silence.

"Mmhmm." Ms Del Rossi replied and continued on with her work.

Mr. Del Rossi looked at the stairs. They seemed to be dark and foreboding but he had a strange feeling to go up them. Slowly he walked towards them and taking one step at a time he begun to climb. The floor creaked and moaned under his feet but all sound seemed oblivious to him and after what seemed like forever he reached the top.

His first thought was to go into his own room and wait for his wife to call him for dinner but he stopped himself. Instead he headed the opposite direction towards Marco's room. The meager wooden door stood open but a crack and it defied its age when he was able to open it without a sound.

Marco lay on his bed, a book was spread across his chest and his head hung to the side in an unwanted sleep. He looked so innocent when he slept, so perfect, so pure. This was his son. Not his gay son, not his straight son, just his son. And that was just how it should've been.

When he had seen him in the hospital that day he felt nothing but hate for him and the blonde boy that was kissing him. But why had he felt that way? Why did he see his son as such a disappointment because of who he loved? How could he feel in such a hateful way towards his own flesh and blood? He had began to hate himself for making him leave like that but was easily reminded that he had had good reason to. But he never really believed that he had that reason figured out. He slept little, if any at all, and when he was in a slumber it was filled with horrid images of his son on the streets. He would awake in a cold sweat and tell himself it was Marco's fault. It was his fault he had been thrown out. It was easy for him to tell himself that, but it was harder to believe it.

When Marco returned he had been happier then he let on. His own son was willing to forgive him, for taking away his home and his family. But he still was unable to accept what his son was. He brushed it off as a phase, as something his son as doing to get back at him, and he tried to convince his son to believe the same.

Then Marco left for school, angry and out of his mind with disbelief. How, after all that had happened and all the days that had passed with him gone, was his father still delusional with the thought that his son was merely going thru a phase? Then he didn't return home from school.

He was crazy with worry over his son's disappearance. He had driven thru the streets calling out his name and showing his picture to any random person he passed. His wife finally convinced him to get some rest.

"It will do no good for Marco for you to be so tired that you become sick." She had cautioned but no matter how many hours he lay still in bed is mind was not at rest. It raced with every scenario possible of what his son could be doing. He closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep but his pleas went unheard.

He got up the next morning and without even eating breakfast had begun to search again. His wife was now becoming too worried to think straight and had almost caught the kitchen on fire when she dazed of and left her homemade oatmeal on the stove unattended. Some of his early search had been for his wife's sake, but most of it was for his own sanity, and the well being of his family.

Then he had received the call. After hours of search his son was home. His wife had called and he heard the happiness that filled her now usual saddened tone. He raced home and had gotten all the details when he got there.

Now he stood in front of his son, and he finally took hold of his wife's words. The fact that his son was gay was a big disappointment in his eyes, but other than that one fact about him he was proud of his son. Nothing could change that.

He sighed heavily and sat in Marco's computer chair, watching his son rest. He had the urge to wake him and tell him that everything was all right, but he chose instead to think of his words wisely.

What if his son was already past the point of forgiveness? What if all the wrong that had been done to him was too deep in his heart to be mended? Mr. Del Rossi's mind was ready to accept this sudden change, but would Marco believe him?

He leaned back into the lightly cushioned chair and exhaled deeply, wishing that he had had this revelation much sooner. Maybe then forgiveness would have come much easier.

* * *

A heavy pounding noise came to his ears causing his eyes to flutter open with a reaction. He saw the back of his father leaving his room, trying to be quiet unsuccessfully. 

"Pa?" He muttered out sleepily and pushed himself onto his elbows. The book on his chest slipped to the slide and shut with a bang.

Mr. Del Rossi stopped his short strides immediately at the sound of is son's voice. He looked over his shoulder quickly before turning his whole body to face Marco.

"Marco, I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you." He said and returned towards the door.

"Pa wait…" He didn't know what he was going to say but he didn't want his father to leave just yet. "I… I'm sorry."

Once again he paused and turned towards his son. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I should be the one apologizing Marco. I shouldn't have acted so selfish and ignorant."

Marco had to compose himself quickly. Did he just hear what he thought he heard? His father was apologizing? He could hardly utter a word but he managed to anyway once his father came to the side of his bed and hugged him.

"Thank you" He whispered into his dad's ear.

Mr. Del Rossi's next words were simple but nothing but them could have ever been so perfect. Nothing else could have ever been as right as those words were at that moment. "I love you Marco, my son."

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**Hope you liked this chapter. Now off with you and review till you drop! -**


	11. Friendship Prevails

**This chapter is dedicated to all the people who have taken time to read my story. This was a really fun story to write and you guys made it better by telling me how much you enjoyed it. **

**I also dont know Paige's eye color but every picture I have seen of her they look green so thats what I'm going with.**

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We go together  
And that's for sure  
And in the future  
We'll still be pure

Looks like a big surprise  
Hands up, it's in your eyes

* * *

The silence was killing him. Every bite of his pancakes seemed to reappear on his plate and the stack seemed never-ending in the awkwardness of the morning meal. His dad may have finally accepted Marco but neither of them knew how to handle it. Marco was ecstatic about what had happened the night before but you couldn't tell unless you were to look in his eyes, which were sparkling madly. But he kept them down, focused on his food and nobody saw them.

Mr. Del Rossi was simply trying to answer the question. "What now?" He and his son's relationship was finally at peace and he was just happy that Marco had actually forgiven him after all he had done. This morning however they were both walking on pins and needles, not wanting to do or say anything that would once again send the other away.

Marco looked at his watch and realized it was time to go. He got up from his seat and hung his bag around his shoulder before kissing his mother. Just as he had done every morning. But today he paused. He looked at his dad and decided in his mind one more thing that would help cement their relationship. He made his way over to him and wrapped one arm around his shoulders gently.

"See you later Pa." He said before walking out the door, leaving a smile on both of his parent's faces.

* * *

"Where were you yesterday? And the day before?" Ellie's overly cheerful voice asked him as he opened hi locker.

He thought a moment before answering. "Do you really want to know?" He looked at her and she raised her eyebrows.

"No I asked you for the kicks." She replied sarcastically causing Marco to roll his eyes.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He said vaguely but Ellie just cocked her head to the side expectantly.

"I… got drunk. Then somehow I ended up at Dylan's dorm and I woke up there the next morning." Ellie's eyes widened and a mischievous smile grew on her lips.

"No! Not like that, nothing happened." He quickly interjected her thoughts. Ellie just giggled lightly but then remembered the rest of his statement.

"You got drunk? That's… unexpected." She said quietly. She knew first hand how alcohol could screw you up. She had come home enough times to find her mother drunk out of her mind to know this was no small deal.

"I know it was stupid. I learned that the hard way. But you don't have to worry about me; I'm _never_ doing that again." He wrapped his arms around her small torso and squeezed her. "I promise."

Ellie nodded and Marco felt her silent agreement against his head. He let go of her and closed his locker just as the bell rung.

Marco headed towards his first class and Ellie did the same. He walked in and sat in the same seat he always sat in. This day was just like any other day, until Paige walked in. Normally she walked in with a large smile on her face and Spinner on her arm. Not today.

Memories flooded his mind with a slight pang of guilt and sadness. His thoughts had been so focused on his own problem he hadn't even gone to see Spinner. Some friend he was.

The honey haired girl sat next to him solemnly and opened her books to the page indicated on the white-board. He wanted to say something, to ask how Spinner was doing or how she was doing, but the words were caught in his throat and they reused to budge.

She looked at him quickly and they both forced a half-hearted smile onto their lips. It wasn't awkward but slightly depressing that they couldn't even have actual smiles around each other now.

Marco turned his head not wanting to keep their eyes locked any longer. Paige was just as relieved for the break. She sighed quietly and begun to start her work, though her mind was only on it a portion of the time. As was Marco's. Their thoughts, if heard, would have sounded entwined for they were both on one thing.

Spinner.

* * *

_BBBBBRRRRRRIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG…_

"Ok don't forget to read chapter 5 in your text books tonight." Mr. Spick called out as the class gathered up their things and hurried out of the room.

Paige seemed much quicker then usual and Marco followed her but was surprise when he found her waiting for him at the door.

"Hey Paige." He managed to say. "How are you?"

"Fine. You?"

"Better…" They started to walk. "How is… uh… Spin doing?"

"Pretty good. He woke up." She looked down at her hands for a moment and twisted them as she thought about her words. "He wants to see you Marco."

Her green eyes met his brown in an attempt to convince him her words were true.

"Then I'll go and see him." He dreaded actually going there but he knew he had to. "Maybe after school…"

Paige nodded then turned into her class. Marco couldn't help but think 'What have I done?'

* * *

"Ma? It's Marco." He spoke into his cell phone as he trudged down the steps of Degrassi. "No I'm fine… I was just calling to tell you I have plans after school… A few friends… Okay… see you tonight, love you."

He snapped the phone shut and stuck it in his pocket before sitting on the bus stop bench. Normally he wouldn't check in with his parents if he was going somewhere after school but he didn't want to worry them any more then he already had. And normally he didn't lie to his parents about where he was going. But he really wasn't in the mood to be asked why he was going to the hospital.

After a few moments the large city bus plowed down the street and stopped in front of him. He entered the automatic doors before taking his seat a few rows behind the driver. There were a few more people on the bus but he paid no attention to them. Though it was hard since apparently the young child in the back thought having a temper tantrum in the thin isle was a good idea. Instead of being bothered he just flipped open his bag and blasted his headphones. Not only did they drown out annoying children but the taunting of his own thoughts was silenced.

He leaned his head against the cool glass of the bus window and sighed. There was no turning back now. No matter how much he wanted to jump through that window he knew that this was going to happen.

Finally the hospital came into view. He pulled on the rope above his head to signal the bus driver to stop. It came to a screeching halt in front of one of the buildings and he forced himself to get up and walk through the doors.

"Can I help you sir?" A skinny black haired receptionist called to him when he came close to the desk.

"Uh, yeah. Can you tell me where umm, Gavin Mason's room is?" She nodded and started clacking on her computer.

"Its room 209. Right down that hall over there." She pointed to her left. "Just follow the signs."

"Thanks." He muttered and began his walk through the halls. He came to the first sign.

"116-142… 143-170…" He whispered to himself as he read down the list of rooms. "200-227, there we go." Next to it was an arrow that pointed to the left and something else that puzzled him. The words psychiatric injury ward was printed.

He raised one eyebrow but shrugged it off and started down the hall the sign indicated. It wasn't long before he reached room 209. He reached for the door handle and his hand started to shake.

_Do it. You need to talk to him._ He urged himself. His hand fell on the knob and he twisted it slowly. The door clicked and swung open. He stepped inside and was met with the curious stare of Spinner.

"H-h-hey Spinner." Marco said trying to sound as casual as possible. He took a quick overlook of him. His hair had also been shaved off and now looked similar to Marco's but shorter. There was an IV in his left arm that caused Marco to wince inwardly. He remembered how uncomfortable those things were.

"Hey…" Came Spinner's reply. "How've you been?"

"I should be asking you that."

"I'm fine, except for the interruptions I get every thirty minutes."

Marco looked at him quizzically. Why would they interrupt him every half hour?

Spinner read the expression and looked at his hands. "Suicide watch really sucks…"

Suicide watch? Why would he be on… "You didn't really…" Marco started.

Unseen tears attempted to roll down Spinners cheeks but he wiped them away before they could travel very far. "Yeah… I did."

"Spinner…" He finally moved from his position at the door and sat in the chair next to Spinners bed. "Why?"

"It's all I deserve for what happened." He was referring to the accident.

"You couldn't control that."

"Yes I could've."

"You weren't driving. You weren't drunk. It wasn't your fault." Marco used everything he had in him not to yell.

"Yes but I left you there. I let Jay drive off. I-"

"I don't care anymore Spinner. You can go ahead and blame yourself but it won't make it your fault. At least not to me." He sighed and put his hand on Spinners bed. "We can't change what happened but we can figure out how to deal with what's going to happen next."

Spinner looked at him. "What is going to happen next?"

"I'm going to tell the police to stop looking for the guy who hit me. And I'm going to find a way to make buzz cuts the new trend." Marco smiled.

"How are you going to manage that?"

"Get Jimmy and Craig to shave their heads."

"Not that. The police thing."

"I'll find a way. You know I always do."

"So nothing's gonna happen to Jay?"

"Not necessarily." Spinner raised his eyebrow in question. "Dylan can't wait to get his hands on him. And he's got a whole hockey team on his side." They both laughed.

It was good to be able to laugh with Spinner again. It had been a while since he had even been able to look him in the eye. Marco finally felt happy. Not a drunk happy or a relief happy… just happy. That he had his friend back and he wasn't ever going to lose him again.

* * *

**YAY! Happy endings are always good. Thank you to all my loyal readers who kept me going through these weeks I hope you enjoyed it!**

**MUCH LOVE messmeup**


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